UAE private sector workers to get two days off for Eid Al Fitr

Private sector workers in the UAE will receive two days of paid holiday to mark Eid Al Fitr.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation said the holiday would take place on the first and second days of Shawwal in the Islamic year 1425.

“This came in a Ministerial Circular issued by Saqr bin Ghobash Saeed Ghobash, minister of human resources and emiratisation, pursuant to the provisions of Article 74 of Federal Law No. 08 for the year 1980 regarding the regulation of labour relations, as amended, which determines the holiday of the private sector as the first and second day of the month of Shawwal,” according to state news agency WAM.

The exact start date of the Islamic holiday is still to be determined but the UAE’s Federal Authority for Government Human Resources said federal ministries and authorities would be off from Saturday, June 24.

Read: UAE government says Eid Al Fitr holiday to begin on June 24

If Eid falls on Sunday, June 25, government workers will return on Wednesday, June 28.

Should the holiday fall on Monday, June 26, then government workers will not return until Sunday, July 2.

UAE President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has called for the early payment of salaries to mark the Islamic holiday.

Read: UAE President orders early payment of salaries for Eid