Dubai to have four-and-a-half day working week

The UAE recently announced that federal government workers will be working from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm on Monday to Thursday, and until 12:00 pm on Fridays.

Abu Dhabi Government is to implement a four and a half day working week, with weekend moved to Saturday-Sunday, and a half-day on Friday in the emirate, in line with the UAE’s vision to enhance its global competitiveness across economic and business sectors, and to keep pace with global developments.

According to the decision, the new weekly work schedule will be implemented in Abu Dhabi across all government entities. The work week will become Monday to Thursday with a half-work day on Friday.

Official working hours in government entities will be from 7.30am to 3.30pm, Monday to Thursday, with regular flexible timings remaining applicable, and from 7.30am to 12.00pm on Friday.

Public and private schools will be implementing a new timetable in the UAE, following the sweeping changes in the country’s working week starting from 2022. The new rules state that federal government workers will enjoy flexi hours at work, and that they also have the option to work from home every Friday.

Students are expected to attend a similar timetable from Monday to Thursday, but Friday schedules as well as the official school timings for 2022, are yet to be confirmed.

The UAE is the first nation in the world to introduce a national working week shorter than the global five-day week

The changes in the longer weekend for the public sector will help to “boost productivity and improve work-life balance”.