The Economic System of Islam by Taqiuddin an-Nabhani

The Islamic Shar’a defines the employee as every person who works for a wage, whether the employer is an individual, or a group, or a State. So the term employee applies to everyone who works in any type of work,

with no difference in the divine rule between the employee of the State and the employee of others. So concerning the employee of the State, the employee of the group, and the employee of the individual, each of them is a worker, and the laws of labour apply on them. In other words each of them is an employee and the rules of hiring apply on them. So the farmer is an employee, the servant is an employee, the workers in factories are employees, the clerks of merchants are employees, the civil servants are employees, and every one of them is a worker. This is because the contract of hiring is over the benefits of the assets, the benefit of the work or the benefit of the person. If this were to be applied on the benefits of the assets then the subject of the employee is not included in it, as he has no relation with it. If it were to be applied on the benefit of the work such as hiring a craftsmen for certain works, or if it applies on the benefit of the person such as hiring servants and workers, then these relate to the employee, and this is what the subject of employment applies upon.