Is a Jewish manufacturer allowed to have his non-Jewish sales representative sell on Shabbat?
The Shulhan Aruch (243:1) rules that if the arrangement with a non-Jewish employee is such that his transactions on Shabbat can be viewed as "Ada’Ata D’Nafshe"-on his own prerogative, for his own benefit, it is permitted.
Therefore, if the sales representative works on a commission basis, his work on Shabbat is for his own interest, and the Jewish owner may receive his share of the profit. However, the owner is prohibited from instructing the employee to sell on Shabbat. In fact, he should inform him that he is under no obligation to do so.
SUMMARY
A Jew may receive profit from the sale of his merchandise by a non-Jew, who works on the basis of commission, as long as the Jew did not instruct him to sell on Shabbat.
