UAE confirms January 2 holiday for 2022

The UAE has confirmed that Sunday, January 2, will be a holiday in line with the new weekend change set to take effect in 2022.

Taking to Twitter, the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources officially announced the New Year holiday on Sunday.

“Saturday, January 1 is a holiday for the federal government, and work will resume on Monday based on the new system of weekly work in the federal sector,” it said.

السبت 1 يناير عطلة #رأس_السنة_الميلادية للحكومة الاتحادية ويستأنف الدوام الاثنين بناء على النظام الجديد للعمل الأسبوعي في القطاع الاتحادي pic.twitter.com/9n3qwSm8OA

— FAHR (@FAHR_UAE) December 19, 2021

Officials also confirmed that January 1 will be a public holiday for all private sector workers in the country.

Saturday January 1st, 2022, will be an official paid holiday for all private sectors workers, on the occasion of New Year, as per the UAE Cabinet’s decision regarding official holidays. #UAE #NewYearOfficialHoliday pic.twitter.com/t2gAfqlbON

— MOHRE_UAE وزارة الموارد البشرية والتوطين (@MOHRE_UAE) December 19, 2021

Earlier this month, the UAE announced a new four-and-a-half-day working week for federal government entities effective from January 1, 2022.

The new working week will run from Monday until Thursday, 7.30am to 3.30pm, and on Friday from 7.30am to 12pm. Saturday and Sunday will be observed as the weekend, in line with the common international standard.

Read: UAE switches weekend, announces four-and-a-half-day working week

Officials have said private sector companies in the UAE can decide whether or not they want to adopt the new weekend policy.

Read: New UAE weekend: Private sector companies can decide whether to make a change