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Eid Al Adha Holidays UAE: Private and Public Sector holidays confirmed – but will it mean less days off work? Full analysis and story.
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The Eid Al Adha Holidays UAE have been announced – and it’s confirmed that the private sector will enjoy the same four days off as the public sector.

As announced by The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, the public-sector holiday will run from Friday July 8 until Monday July 11.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) confirmed today that the private-sector holiday for Eid Al Adha would also start on 9th Dhu Al Hijjah (Arafat Day), which corresponds to Friday 8 July, and will end on Monday 11 July.

This follows the sighting of the Dhu Al Hijja crescent moon on Wednesday evening by Saudi Arabia’s Tumair Observatory. The sighting of the Moon marks the beginning of the Dhu Al Hijja Islamic month best known for the Hajj pilgrimage. Eid Al Adha, follows, beginning on the 10th day of the month.

Work for both private and public sectors will resume on Tuesday July 12.

These four days will be a paid holiday for all workers in both sectors.

Losing out on holiday? 

Moon light shining through a mosque's windows as the Eid holidays start

The Eid Al Adha is usually the longer break of the two Eids, but this year Eid Al Adha falls across the weekend. This means employees who work the regular Monday to Friday week will only get two extra days off, as Saturday and Sunday would be off-days for the weekend anyway.

Friday 8 July is also Arafat Day, which is always a public holiday in the UAE.

Arafat Day (or the Day of Arafah) is an Islamic holiday that falls on the 9th day of Dhu al-Hijjah of the lunar Islamic Calendar. It is the holiest day in the Islamic calendar, the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage, and the day after is the first day of the major Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The fact that the Eid Holiday has been declared as starting on this day, however, means that workers miss out on what would otherwise be its own additional public holiday.

However, employees in both the private and public sectors have already enjoyed a generous amount of public holiday this year, with public-sector employees and schools getting a full week off for Eid Al Fitr back in May. – more on this here.

When is the next long weekend?

The next UAE public holidays following the Eid Al Adha break are expected to be:

  • Islamic New Year – Saturday 30 July
  • Prophet’s Birthday – Saturday 8 October

These holidays will also not result in additional days off for workers who work a Monday to Friday week, since Saturdays are a weekend anyway.

However, the next long weekend to look forward to, and the last public holiday of 2022, is set to be the National Day weekend:

  • Commemoration Day – Thursday 1 December
  • National Day – Friday 2 December

Summer vacation

The Eid Al Adha holiday falls during the school vacation, at a time when many families will be abroad on holiday, or visiting family back in their native countries.

Some UAE schools have already broken up for the summer holiday, and others are gearing up to break up either at the end of this week or by the end of next week.

Whatever you will be doing, we wish you a very happy summer and Eid Al Adha Mubarak!

© SchoolsCompared.com. 2022. All rights reserved.

About The Author
Tabitha Barda
Tabitha Barda is the Senior Editor of SchoolsCompared.com. Oxbridge educated and an award winning journalist in the UAE for more than a decade, Tabitha is one of the region's shining lights in all that is education in the emirates. A mum herself, she is passionate about helping parents - and finding the stories in education that deserve telling. She is responsible for the busy 24x7 News Desk, our Advisory Boards and Specialist Panels - and Parents United's WHICHPlaydates - a regular meeting place for UAE parents to discuss the issues that matter to them, make friends and network with others. You can often find Tabitha too on Parents United - our Facebook community board, discussing the latest schools and education issues with our parent community in the UAE - and beyond.

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