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UAE public holidays 2023: UAE officials announce the first public holiday of 2023 for private sector
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UAE public holidays 2023: UAE officials announce the first public holiday of 2023 for private sector

by Tabitha BardaDecember 20, 2022

The UAE has declared the first public holiday of 2023 will be Sunday 1 January, New Year’s Day.

The announcement, posted online by the UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation on 20 December 2022, stated that this will be an official paid holiday in the UAE for all private sector employees.

 

Since the first day of the new year falls on a Sunday, private sector workers who have switched to the new Saturday-and-Sunday weekend will already not be working anyway. However, anyone whose working patterns follow the old-style weekend of Friday and Saturday will get a long weekend. If you fall into the category of a private-sector worker and your work requires you to work on a public holiday, you are entitled to time-in-lieu or over-hours pay, according to the new UAE Labour Law – Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, which came into effect in February 2022. Article 28 of the law looks at public holidays and how workers in the private sector should be compensated for working during the leave days. It states as follows:

1. The worker shall be entitled to official days off with full pay on public holidays, which are defined by a resolution of the Cabinet.

2. If work conditions require that the worker works during any of the public holidays, the employer shall compensate him with another day off for each day on which he works during the holiday, or pay him the wage for that day according to the wage established for the normal working days, plus an increase of not less than 50 per cent of the basic wage for that day.

Full list of UAE public holidays 2023

The next UAE public holiday is slated to be over a long weekend in April for Ed Al Fitr. Below are the predicted UAE public holidays at a glance (Islamic holiday dates are subject to moon sightings and government confirmation closer to the time).

  • New Year’s Day: January 1 (Sunday)
  • Eid al-Fitr: April 20, 21, 22 and 23 (Thursday – Saturday)
  • Arafat Day: June 28 (Wednesday)
  • Eid al-Adha: June 29, 30, 1 July (Wednesday – Friday)
  • Islamic New Year: July 19 (Wednesday)
  • The Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) birthday: September 28 (Thursday)
  • Commemoration Day: December 1 (Thursday)
  • National Day: December 2, 3 (Friday, Saturday)

Find out more about the UAE public holidays 2023 and how they align with school term times here. 

© SchoolsCompared.com. A WhichMedia Group publication. 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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