ABU DHABI – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced its transition to a 4.5-day work week with weekends to consist of Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday for state employees. This change will take effect on 1 January 2022.
Like most countries in the Gulf, the UAE currently has a Sunday-to-Thursday work week with Fridays and Saturdays off.
This transition is likely to make the UAE the first nation to formalise a workweek shorter than five days and will allow the country to align more closely with global markets, bringing the country more in line with Western schedules.
For more information, please contact uae@qumsieh.com.