1) Non-Jews are not obligated to refrain from Melacha (the 39 categories of creative activity) on Shabbat. 2) There are three different reasons given by the Rishonim (early Talmudic authorities) as to why the Sages created this prohibition: a) So that Jews will not take the prohibitions of Shabbat lightly, and end up violating the Shabbat themselves (Rambam, Laws of Shabbat, 6:1) b) There is a Rabbinic restriction, based on a verse in Isaiah (58:13), which forbids the discussion, on Shabbat itself, of one's business affairs, weekday concerns, or any of the 39 categories of prohibited activity. Instructing a non-Jew on Shabbat itself to perform a Melacha would be a violation of that Rabbinical prohibition. c) In Jewish law, one's agent is the equivalent of oneself (except when the agent is committing a crime). The Sages extended this concept to include a case of a Jew enlisting a non-Jew to perform Melacha for him on Shabbat, making it tantamount to the Jew doing the Melacha himself. All three reasons have been accepted by Halachic authorities and must be applied to each case. Therefore, one may not ask a non-Jew on Shabbat, or even during the week to perform a Melacha for him on Shabbat. Applying reason (b), one may not even ask a non-Jew on Shabbat to perform a Melacha for him after Shabbat.} 3) Exodus 12:16.

1) One is allowed to put mail into a public mailbox on Friday, even though it may be collected, processed and delivered on Shabbat by a non-Jew.

ב) שיקצוץ לאינו יהודי שכרו שאז הוא עושה את המלאכה בשביל עצמו שיקבל שכרו ולכן מי שיש לו משרת אינו יהודי לזמן ידוע אסור להניח לו לעשות מלאכה בשבת מפני שהמלאכה היא רק לתועלת הישראל ואינו יהודי הנוסע לאיזה מקום וישראל נותן איגרת שישאנה שמה וישאנה גם בשבת צריך הישראל לתת לו איזה שכר כדי שהאינו יהודי יעשה בשביל שכרו ולא בחנם

1) A non-Jew can be employed as a contractor (kablan), a person hired to complete a specific job, or as a ''hired for the day'' (sechar yom), a person hired for a specific amount of time to perform various tasks, who's wage is time-related and not tied to the completion of a specific job. A non-Jew contractor hired by a Jew before Shabbat is allowed to choose to work on the job on Shabbat, because his intention is to complete the job in order to get paid, and he is therefore seen as working for his own benefit. A non-Jew ''hired for the day'', on the other hand, is being paid to do whatever the Jew needs, without a specific task to complete, and therefore, looks much more like an agent of the Jew. The Sages therefore prohibited the work of a ''hired for the day'' on Shabbat.