Using the phone during paid overtime

A question about using the phone during paid overtime, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that an employee must follow the overtime rules, be truthful and be present; he may fill idle time with something beneficial once his duties are done, but if he delays work for personal matters, the pay for the wasted time is not lawful for him and he must return its value. ¹

An employee who does paid overtime after hours, and may get absorbed in his phone or the work computer, asked about the ruling. ¹

The Department answered that an employee must follow the instructions and regulations on overtime hours, be truthful and avoid deception and lying, citing Surat al-Tawba 9:119, and that whoever is assigned overtime must be present at the workplace even if he has no tasks. ¹ It said that in that case he should do his best to use the time for his institution's benefit; if he has no work, there is no harm in spending the time on something useful such as reading the Qur'an or books or listening to lessons, provided he has completed everything he is responsible for. ¹ It said that if he has work, he must spend the time completing it, and may answer calls or attend to other personal matters within accepted custom so long as the work is not delayed; if the work is postponed because of his personal matters, the pay for the time he wasted is not lawful for him, and he must return its equivalent to the institution by any possible means. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 4458, dated 5 May 2026. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.