Harassment

The employer shall not engage in harassment against a worker.Provided that for the purposes of this section, the term worker shall mean all workers, irrespective of their contractual status, including interns and apprentices, workers whose employment has been terminated, volunteers, job seekers and job applicants.Harassment means unwanted conduct that is not of a sexual nature […]

Equality of Opportunity and Treatment

An employer shall not discriminate,[1] directly or indirectly, against a worker or job applicant[2] in any aspect of employment.[3] For the purpose of this Chapter, discrimination includes any distinction, exclusion or preference with the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation, based on any of the following grounds:[4] […]

Prohibition on Child and Forced Labour

Labour rights are so important that the last words of the Prophet (ﷺ) were about protecting workers’ rights and being kind to them. Ali (RA) narrates that the “Prophet (ﷺ) urged us to attend to our prayers and pay our zakat and to be kind to those in our possession (slaves/servants). He repeated those words until […]

General Provisions

Title and Commencement This Act shall be cited as the “Islamic Labour Code” and shall come into force at once. Purpose The purpose of this Act is to establish a legal framework for the minimum conditions of employment, labour relations, labour inspection, dispute resolution and provision for fundamental labour rights at work including health and […]

Worker Responsibilities

Islam requires every person to look for work and earn money to satisfy his personal and his family’s needs with his own earnings.[1] It regards begging from others as haram (unlawful) if one can earn.[2] It also obligates a worker to earn his income through halal (lawful) means. Islam not only encourages people to “do […]

Hiring the Best Person for Job

Islam constrains employers to recruit, select, and promote workers based on merit. It decries favouritism and nepotism and any type of discrimination. The Quran has given a clear and straightforward rule for hiring a worker; “the best of men for you to hire is the strong (competent) and the trustworthy” (28:26).[1] In another instance, the […]

Profit Sharing

The proponents of Islamic economic and finance systems have written extensively on the establishment of profit sharing or stock ownership schemes in firms.[1] We find that Islam allows joint ventures between two parties where one party provides the capital and the other provide labour or services, and profits are divided as agreed beforehand (called Modaraba, […]

Social Security

Islam not only talks about the equitable distribution of resources in the society, but it also gives the whole population a right to the basic standard of living (through basic state pensions). This basic standard of living is ensured through the imposition of the Zakat on the rich with the aim that “this wealth may […]

Equality and Nondiscrimination

Islam is of the view that all humans are equal, and it does not allow discrimination based on sex, race, origin, religion, and so on. The Quran says, “O mankind! We created you from the same male and female” (04:01, 49:13). It also says the measure of nobility is only taqwa, that is, doing the […]