What is the jurisprudential ruling on an official spending time outside his office during official working hours to attend to personal matters, knowing that there is no direct superior from whom to seek permission, and that his absence does not affect the workflow, and he can be contacted at any time if needed, and he often stays after the end of official working hours to compensate for that time?

The employee is required to be present and remain for the agreed-upon duration of work, whether they have tasks or not, because the employment or leasing contract entails this. The fundamental principle for jobs is that they fall under the category of private leasing estimated by time.

An exception to this is if there is a pressing need for the employee to leave for work or an interest that would be difficult to postpone until after working hours; in such a case, they may leave with the administration's permission. The manager is responsible for being a role model for their employees and for adhering to working hours, because leniency in this regard leads to general corruption within the institution. The presence of a mobile phone or staying after working hours is not sufficient, because fulfilling a trust is done at its appointed time.

Allah says: (Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due) [An-Nisa/58].

The employee must adhere to official working hours and is not permitted to leave except for a pressing need with the permission of the administration or the direct supervisor, as the time belongs to the entity they work for, and the salary is in exchange for the time the employee commits to, not merely in exchange for the volume of work.

The supervisor is entrusted with overseeing employees, following up on them, evaluating their work, and guiding them.