Working in a place of sale, and a customer gave him a gift, so what is the ruling?

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, the questioner says: My brother works as an employee and salesperson in a shop, and one of the customers gave him dates as a gift, so he took them and then gave them to me.

The Shaykh:
What is your brother’s situation?

The questioner:
He works as an employee and salesperson in a shop, and one of the customers gave him dates as a gift. He says: My brother took them and gave them to me. He says: What should I do with them? Is it permissible for me to eat from them?

The Shaykh:
He should return them to him; it is not permissible for him to take them. It is not permissible for him to take them because this is a bribe. The customers did not bring it to him out of affection, but rather they brought it to him for the purpose of him being lenient with them. So this is a bribe. It is obligatory to return it, and it is obligatory for the employee to return it to the customer who brought it.