An employee’s government-mandated rights

Question

Question: For 25 years Zayd served in a wholesale shoe shop, carrying out purchasing and book-keeping with great regularity and honesty; now, due to poor health, he has retired. He received his fixed salary agreed between them (?) month by month. The government has by law imposed on shop owners certain rights of employees — whether of government or private shops — in addition to the monthly pay. Of these rights the said firm has not given Zayd a single penny.

Answer

Before Allah, the obligation is only what was agreed between the employer and the employee; whatever the government law may be, the obligation under it is merely a legal one.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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