Overview
- The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources announced a three-day public-sector holiday from Wednesday, December 2 to Friday, December 4, with government offices resuming on Monday, December 7.
- The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation confirmed private-sector workers will get two paid days off on Wednesday and Thursday, December 2 and 3.
- Paired with the weekend, the public-sector dates give many government staff an effective five-day break without using annual leave.
- Employees can lengthen the break by using annual leave, with government staff able to turn the three-day holiday into a nine-day break by adding two leave days and private workers able to extend their time off with a single approved leave day.
- Federal Decree Law No 33 of 2021 and Federal Decree Law No 49 of 2022 set how public holidays count during annual leave and the announcements follow a year that has seen occasional differences between public and private sector holiday lengths.