He saved the government some money; can he take compensation without their knowing?
Question I am employed in a government department in my country, and I did some work that saved the state a lot of money. My boss said to me: I cannot compensate you properly, because the administration in our country does not pay its employees well. In this case my efforts are wasted and my…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
This action that was
suggested by your boss is haraam, and the money that would be obtained by
means of this action is haraam, and it is not permissible for you or the
administration to take it from the state in this manner that is based on
lying and deceit.
Employees, whether they
work for the government or not, have to do their jobs in the best manner and
they have to try to bring benefits and ward off harm from their workplaces,
and they take their salaries for their work in exchange for their efforts at
work.
If a person does his job
well and saves his workplace money, or he is the cause of them making
abundant profits, it is not permissible for him to take more than his salary
from his workplace, but he may submit a report to the administration showing
them what he has done, and if they agree to offer him some reward for that,
it is permissible for him to take it. Otherwise it is not permissible for
him to take any money from them without their knowledge. If he does that
then he is earning wealth in a haraam way.
The scholars of the
Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:
Sincerity in work or
employment means doing the job in the manner required, as agreed upon in the
contract or the system. It is a trust that must be fulfilled, as Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, Allaah commands that you should
render back the trusts to those, to whom they are due” [al-Nisa’ 4:58].
End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah (15/155, 156.