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Fatwa CenterManager accepting gifts from employees at work
Question
I work as a manager in a company. Some of the employees that work for me are friends outside of work. One of them reached out to me for advice on how to get a raise in the company. I gave him advice from what I have seen happening with other employees. He followed the advice somewhat and received the raise that he wanted. When he received the raise, he gave me a gift card as a thank you for helping him out. Is that considered a bribe or a halal gift?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
The employee's gift to his manager at work is not permissible, and it is not permissible for his manager to accept it, because this gift most likely causes favoritism towards the person offering the gift and giving him precedence over other employees, so it is similar to bribery.
Ibn 'Uthaymeen 
was asked, “Is the gift from the employee to his manager permissible?”
He replied:
“The gift from the employee to his manager is not permissible, because as you know, ‘Abdullah ibn Al-Lutbiyyah was sent by the Prophet to collect the charity, then he came back with the charity and said, ‘This is for you, and this was gifted to me.’ Thereupon, the Prophet gave a sermon, in which he said, ‘What is the matter with a man whom we sent to do a job, and he comes and says, ‘This is for you, and this was gifted to me?’ Why does he not sit in the house of his mother and father and see if he is gifted anything or not?’”
The questioner asked, “What if it was just a pen?” Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen replied, “Even if it is only a Siwaak (toothstick).” [Excerpted from Liqaa’ Al-Baab Al-Maftooh (the Open Door Meeting)]
Ibn Baaz was asked, “What is the ruling of someone offering valuables, claiming that it is a gift to his manager at work?” He replied, “This is wrong and a means to a great evil. The manager should not accept gifts; it may be a bribe and a means to flattery and betrayal (of trust).”
If we assume that the gift was in return for a service that is not part of your duties at work, then this is not a justification for a gift because the reason for the prohibition of gifting is the charge of favoritism for the employee, and this is present in this case as well. The scholars stated that it is forbidden for the friends of the judge to gift him, even if they used to gift him before he took the office of judge, if they have a dispute (a court case or the like) whether at the present time or expected in the future. This is because the charge of favoritism exists.
The Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia reads:
“Among the forbidden gifts are the gifts to public employees and people of authority such as the judge and others who manage the general affairs of the Muslims. This is if the gift is from someone who has a dispute or from someone who does not have any dispute but he was not used to gift them before they came to office. In case there is a dispute, then this leads the judge to be inclined to the gifter, and in case there is no dispute, then the gift was given to him because of his job.
It is permissible for the judge to accept a gift from a relative or a friend who used to gift him before he took office if that person does not have any dispute in the present time and is not expected to have any disputes in the future, as there is no fear of favoritism in this case, contrary to someone who gives the gift to him only after he was elected to this position, as it is forbidden.”
Allah knows best.
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