Docking wages as a form of penalty
| Fatwa #1512 | Category: Business & Trade | Country: | Date: 1st July 2025 |
| Fatwa #1512 | Date: 1st July 2025 |
| Category: Business & Trade | |
| Country: | |
Question
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيم
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
I humbly request your guidance and a detailed, evidence-based response regarding the following scenario:
A petrol station employs workers on an hourly wage. To keep track of attendance, each employee must clock in and out at a specific time. If they arrive late, their pay is reduced accordingly. However, some employees “forget” to clock in on days they are late, presumably to avoid having their pay docked for tardiness.
As a result, the employer implemented a policy: if an employee fails to clock in, they will not be paid for any hours worked unless they have properly used the system. This measure is intended to encourage correct clock-in procedures.
We seek clarification as to whether this policy is permissible under Sharī‘ah. In particular, we request details about employees’ entitlement to wages and the permissibility of docking wages as a form of penalty.
جزاكم الله خيرا
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
In principle, employees hired for an hourly wage are owed their wage in proportion to the number of hours worked.[1] There is nothing wrong in implementing a policy that requires employees to clock in and out, ensuring accurate hours worked are recorded. However, it is not permissible to withhold the wage of an employee who did work but did not clock in.
In such instances, you shall have to rely on other measures, for example a security camera, to determine what time the employee showed up for work and pay him accordingly. If there is no other way to determine the hours worked, then the employee should be informed that since the employer can only determine worked hours via the clocking in and out method, those are the only timings that shall be considered for wages.
A better alternative is to put the clocking in/out device in such a location that each employee has to pass by there before beginning work.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia
درر الحكام في شرح مجلة الأحكام (1/ 458) [1]
وَإِنَّمَا لَا يُشْتَرَطُ عَمَلُ الْأَجِيرِ الْخَاصِّ بِالْفِعْلِ كَمَا وَرَدَ فِي هَذِهِ الْمَادَّةِ؛ لِأَنَّهُ لَمَّا كَانَتْ مَنَافِعُ الْأَجِيرِ مُدَّةَ الْإِجَارَةِ مُسْتَحَقَّةً لِلْمُسْتَأْجِرِ وَتِلْكَ الْمَنَافِعُ قَدْ تُهُيِّئَتْ وَالْأُجْرَةُ مُقَابِلُ الْمَنَافِعِ، فَالْمُسْتَأْجِرُ إذَا قَصَّرَ فِي اسْتِعْمَالِ الْأَجِيرِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِلْأَجِيرِ مَانِعٌ حِسِّيٌّ عَنْ الْعَمَلِ كَمَرَضٍ وَمَطَرٍ فَلِلْأَجِيرِ أَخْذُ الْأُجْرَةِ وَلَوْ لَمْ يَعْمَلَ (الزَّيْلَعِيُّ)
درر الحكام في شرح مجلة الأحكام (1/ 459)
أَمَّا الْأَجِيرُ الْخَاصُّ إذَا امْتَنَعَ عَنْ تَسْلِيمِ نَفْسِهِ مُدَّةَ الْإِجَارَةِ لِصَيْرُورَتِهِ عَاجِزًا عَنْ الْعَمَلِ؛ فَلَا يَسْتَحِقُّ الْأُجْرَةَ
درر الحكام في شرح مجلة الأحكام (1/ 457)
أَمَّا الْأَجِيرُ الْخَاصُّ؛ فَلَيْسَ لَهُ أَنْ يَلْتَزِمَ عَمَلًا لِغَيْرِ مُسْتَأْجِرِهِ، أَوْ مُسْتَأْجِرِيهِ فِي الْمُدَّةِ الَّتِي اُسْتُؤْجِرَ فِيهَا؛ لِأَنَّ مَنَافِعَهُ فِي هَذِهِ الْمُدَّةِ لِمُسْتَأْجِرِهِ، أَوْ مُسْتَأْجِرِيهِ؛ فَلَا يُمْكِنُهُ تَمْلِيكُهَا فِي عَيْنِ الْوَقْتِ لِغَيْرِهِمْ وَيُقَالُ لِلْأَجِيرِ الْخَاصِّ الَّذِي اسْتَأْجَرَهُ وَاحِدٌ