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Swapping shifts with a secular person on Shabbat

שו”תCategory: HalachaSwapping shifts with a secular person on Shabbat
asked 6 days ago

I work at a high-tech company.
My team has a customer support rotation.
They ask me to find a replacement to drink when I’m not available.
Usually there are no urgent problems, but sometimes there are “bounces” even outside of working hours.
Is it permissible to ask another employee to be a driver on Shabbat in my place?


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0 Answers
מיכי Staff answered 6 days ago
I don’t understand how you do it yourself. Is there a PICON there? If not, then you are not allowed to work on it. If there is someone who is willing to work on it, then he is not replacing you but making a decision for himself. You are not allowed to work on it.

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אורי replied 6 days ago

Rabbi, as someone who comes from the world of high-tech, this practice is common in all companies. It is known that there are standbys on Shabbat because the product needs 24/7 availability that requires maintenance when there are urgent problems (such as those that cannot be delayed).
At the company I worked for in the first place, they structured the standby schedule so that the religious did not receive standbys from Friday noon until Saturday afternoon. As a result, a person who does not observe Shabbat was on standby during these hours.
By the way, there are standbys on Yom Kippur as well.

י replied 6 days ago

In my humble opinion, the rabbi misread the question. He does not commit the desecration himself.
A comma should be added to understand:

“They are asking me to find a replacement for Shabbats(,) where I am unavailable”.
That is, not that on some Shabbats he is available and on some he is not, but on all Shabbats he is unavailable.

מיכי Staff replied 6 days ago

It doesn't matter. When you're looking for a replacement, it means that in principle you work on Saturdays and the replacement is yours. If the company keeps people on Saturdays and you only get work on weekdays, that's a different matter.

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