Working hours, weekends, Ramadan and leave in the UAE

Normal hours and breaks

The law caps normal working time at 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week. You can't be made to work more than 5 hours in a row without a break, and your breaks must add up to at least 1 hour a day. Breaks don't count as working time.

Your contract or the company's rules set your actual hours within those limits. The law gives the minimum; your contract can give you more. Our offer check helps you read the hours and leave in an offer.

The summer midday break is for outdoor work only: from 15 June to 15 September, work in the sun stops between 12:30pm and 3pm. It doesn't change office hours. See MOHRE's page on the midday break (opens in a new window).

Ramadan hours

During Ramadan, normal working hours in the private sector are cut by 2 hours a day, for the whole month. MOHRE confirmed the cut for Ramadan 2026. See MOHRE's announcement (opens in a new window).

Overtime and working on your day off

Your employer can ask for overtime of up to 2 hours a day, and your total hours can't go above 144 over any 3 weeks.

• Overtime is paid at your basic hourly wage plus at least 25%.
• Between 10pm and 4am it's plus at least 50%, unless you work in shifts.
• If you work on your rest day, you get another day off or your pay plus at least 50%. You can't be made to work more than 2 rest days in a row.

Overtime is worked out on basic pay, so a small basic makes every extra hour worth less: see basic salary and allowances.

The UAE weekend: government, private sector and Sharjah

Since 1 January 2022 the federal government works a four-and-a-half-day week: full days from Monday to Thursday and a Friday morning, with Saturday and Sunday off. Sharjah's government works Monday to Thursday, with Friday to Sunday off (u.ae (opens in a new window)).

Private companies set their own week. The law only requires at least 1 paid rest day a week, and your employer chooses the day. So your contract, not the government's week, says which days you work: ask at the offer stage whether you work on Fridays, and until when.

Annual leave

• After a year's service you get 30 days of annual leave a year on full pay.
• After 6 months but before a year, you earn 2 days for each month.
• Your employer can set the dates, and must tell you 1 month ahead.
• You can carry forward up to half of a year's leave to the next year.
• Leave you haven't taken when you leave is paid out, on your basic wage: the gratuity and leave salary calculator works it out, and how leave salary is calculated shows the sum.

Unpaid leave doesn't count as service for your gratuity: see how gratuity is worked out. If your employer gives you notice while you're on leave, the notice starts the day after you come back (see probation, notice and resigning).

Sick leave

After probation you're entitled to up to 90 days of sick leave a year. You must tell your employer within 3 working days that you're ill.

1. 1

   The first part

   15 days on full pay.
2. 2

   Then

   30 days on half pay.
3. 3

   After that

   45 days unpaid.

There's no paid sick leave during probation, but your employer can give you unpaid sick leave with a medical report.

Maternity, parental and other leave

Maternity leave is 60 days: 45 on full pay and 15 on half pay. If you're ill because of the pregnancy or birth, you can take up to 45 more days unpaid. If your baby is ill or disabled, you get 30 more days on full pay, then up to 30 unpaid. For 6 months after the birth you can take nursing breaks of up to 1 hour a day.

• Parental leave: 5 working days for the father or the mother, taken within 6 months of the birth.
• Bereavement leave: 5 days for a husband or wife, 3 days for a parent, child, brother or sister, grandchild or grandparent.
• Study leave: 10 working days a year to sit exams, once you've worked for the employer for 2 years.
• Hajj leave: u.ae lists up to 30 days, unpaid, once with each employer. We couldn't find it in the text of the law, so confirm it with your employer.

The law has no leave for Umrah: that's up to your employer. Moving with children? See what a family of three spends in Dubai. Every type of leave is on u.ae's leave page (opens in a new window).

Public holidays: how they're set

Since 2025 the government and private sector have the same public holidays, 12 days a year: New Year's Day, Eid Al Fitr (3 days), Arafah Day, Eid Al Adha (3 days), the Hijri New Year, the Prophet's Birthday and National Day (2 days). When Ramadan lasts 30 days, Eid Al Fitr gets one more day, making 13.

The Islamic holidays follow the moon, so their dates move every year and are confirmed only shortly before. MOHRE announces the private-sector dates each time (Eid Al Fitr 2026, for example (opens in a new window)), and the Cabinet can move holidays other than Eid to the start or end of a week. Check the holidays resolution (opens in a new window) for the rules.

Public holidays are on full pay. If you work on one, you get another day off or your pay plus at least 50%.

This guide covers the federal law for the private sector. Free zones such as DIFC have their own rules, and your contract can give more. It isn't legal advice: check u.ae (opens in a new window) or MOHRE for your case.

Sources

1. Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024 on official holidays (opens in a new window), UAE Legislation portal, 1 January 2025
2. Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on employment relationships, with its amendments (opens in a new window), MOHRE, 10 October 2026
3. The midday break (opens in a new window), MOHRE, 29 September 2026
4. Reduction of working hours for private-sector employees by two hours daily during Ramadan (opens in a new window), MOHRE, 12 February 2026
5. Types of leave in the private sector (opens in a new window), u.ae, 24 September 2026
6. Eid Al Fitr holiday announced for the private sector (opens in a new window), MOHRE, 23 February 2026
7. Working hours in the public sector (opens in a new window), u.ae, 12 August 2026
8. Working hours in the private sector (opens in a new window), u.ae, 12 August 2026