From January 1, 2022, the United Arab Emirates will switch to a Western work schedule and a 4.5-day work week. This means that the weekend in the UAE will be Saturday, Sunday and half of Friday, and not Friday and Saturday, as now. This will allow Dubai to coincide in working hours with Western economic partners.
Ukraine , Ukraingate , 8 , December , 2021 | International News
Friday is a holy day in Islam, so in most Gulf states and Arab countries, weekends fall on Fridays and Saturdays, or Thursdays and Fridays.
The UAE became the first Gulf country to postpone the weekend to Saturday and Sunday.
However, half of Friday will also remain non-working. The day in state companies will end at 12:00 – so that the faithful can say noon prayers. According to Islamic custom, work during the Friday noon prayer is forbidden, but it can be performed before and after the prayer.
The UAE will also be the first country in the world to officially introduce a national 4.5-day working week instead of a five-day working week. Both the new weekend schedule and the 4.5-day working week so far apply only to civil servants.
So far, the country’s authorities have not given any specific instructions to the private sector.
Source: Ukrgate
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