What is obligatory upon the employer if one of his workers dies?

Question:
We move on to other topics through messages from our dear listeners. This message reached the program from the Sultanate of Oman, and its sender is our brother listener (S. F. H). He says: I brought in a worker from abroad to work for me, and after a period of time, he passed away. I bore the cost of preparing his body and transporting his remains to his country, which amounted to more than five thousand riyals. Do I owe him anything after that to clear my conscience?

Answer:
You must hand over to his family the wages you have in your possession. If he has remaining wages or an estate with you, you must hand over all his money that is with you, whether it is wages, or an estate of his in cash, or goods. You must hand that over.
As for what you spent on preparing his body, you know your own intention best. If you spent it as a voluntary gift from you, may Allah reward you with good, and you have no right to claim it back. But if you did not spend it with the intention of getting it back, then you may claim back what you spent on his shroud, digging his grave, and the like.
As for preparing him to be sent to his family, you have no right to claim that back, because it is not obligatory for him to be returned to his family. If you buried him with the Muslims in your country, that is sufficient, unless his family requested it from you and agreed that you could take the cost of the travel preparations from his money, in which case there is no harm. Otherwise, it is not required of you to prepare him to be sent to his country. Rather, it is obligatory that he be buried with the Muslims in Oman, just as if he died in Makkah or al-Madinah or elsewhere; he is buried with the Muslims and not sent to his country. However, if his family requests that he be sent to his country and they commit to the cost, or they permit taking the cost from the estate, there is no harm, although leaving it as it is is better, as it is better for him to be buried with the Muslims and not to travel, and avoiding the extra effort is preferable. This is the preferable course. One only makes the effort in this if he is in the lands of the disbelievers, in a land where a Muslim is not buried. In that case, there is no harm in transferring him to a Muslim country, or to his family, or if his family permits transferring him to them for a benefit they see, it is at their expense, at the expense of whoever permitted it by requesting his transfer and committing to the cost of the tickets. As for you, you are not obligated to do that, but if you do it voluntarily, you have no right to claim it back.

The presenter: May Allah bless you.
What if that worker is not a Muslim?

The Shaykh: If the worker is not a Muslim, he is not shrouded, no prayer is offered over him, and he is not prepared to be sent to the land of his people. He is buried with the disbelievers if there are disbelievers in your country, or a grave is dug for him in a place far from the Muslims, and he is buried in a remote place in the desert, his grave is leveled, and the matter is ended. No prayer is offered over him, he is not washed, and he is not shrouded, but rather he is buried in whatever covering clothes are available.

The presenter: He is covered in clothes and buried far from the Muslim graveyards?

The Shaykh: Yes, yes, that is correct.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He benefit us with your knowledge.