Alwaght- UAE announced on Tuesday that it would shift to a five-day working week, with Saturday, and Sunday forming the new weekend, similar to how the week is organized in Western nations.
Under the current system, adopted by the UAE in 2006, Friday and Saturday are off days while Sunday is a workday. In the former working week, Thursday and Friday were weekend.
Rumors of further realignment had been swirling on UAE social media for some time, but were dismissed as ‘fake news’ by state officials and media.
The regular working hours for federal employees will be 7:30am to 3:30pm, with the exception of Friday, which will be a short working day ending at midday to accommodate for traditional Islamic prayer. The change will “boost productivity and improve work-life balance,” the government said in a statement.
The new schedule applies only to federal government workers and not to the private sector, and will come into force on January 1.
