Ramadan working hours UAE: private sector and government rules

Ramadan working hours in the UAE private sector

As of November 2026, the latest annual announcement verified for this guide is MOHRE’s decision for Ramadan 2026. WAM reported the announcement on 12 February 2026: normal private-sector working hours were reduced by two hours a day.

The announcement also permitted flexible working arrangements or remote work within the daily Ramadan hours, according to the business and the nature of the work. It did not set a single nationwide private-sector opening time or give every employee a choice to work from home.

Start by identifying the legal employer on your contract. A workplace’s location, brand or government customer does not by itself tell you which employment rules govern your role. Ask HR to identify the applicable regime and provide the Ramadan schedule for your own team.

What the law actually reduces

The legal basis is Article 15(2) of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, implementing Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021. The MOHRE law and regulations collection states that regular working hours are reduced by two hours during Ramadan.

The provision is expressed as a working-hours rule, without a condition that the employee must be fasting. Under the federal private-sector framework, it therefore applies to covered Muslim and non-Muslim employees. Do not assume that a manager can remove the reduction simply because an employee is not observing the fast.

However, Article 15 also addresses categories exempt from maximum-hours provisions, including certain senior supervisory roles with employer powers and particular continuous or maritime work. A job title alone is not enough to resolve an exemption. Ask for the specific legal basis if HR says your role is treated differently.

Use the current framework, rather than an old article quoting a previous labour law. Our UAE labour law guide provides wider context. For an unusual roster, record the actual working periods and seek a ruling on the facts rather than treating a general example as your final entitlement.

How to read your Ramadan roster

For a straightforward covered employee normally working eight actual hours, subtracting two gives six actual working hours during Ramadan. This is an illustration of the reduction, not an official national start-and-finish timetable. Your employer still needs to communicate when those working hours occur.

A calendar invitation can make a short day longer in practice. Check early handovers, late client calls and recurring meetings with overseas colleagues. If attendance is required outside your published schedule, ask how that time should be recorded before accepting a standing arrangement.

Do not silently remove every break from your own attendance record to produce an earlier finishing time. Ask HR to distinguish work, breaks and attendance clearly. That written explanation is more useful than comparing only the time colleagues arrive at the building or leave the car park.

Federal government hours: the verified 2026 timetable

FAHR’s announcement dated 11 February 2026 set the following hours for federal ministries and entities during Ramadan 2026, except where the nature of the job required otherwise.

FAHR allowed entities to continue approved flexible arrangements within prescribed daily hours and work requirements. It also allowed up to 70% of employees to work remotely on Fridays. This was permission for entities to arrange staffing, not an individual guarantee of Friday home working.

Federal government employment, local government employment and private employment need separate checks. If you work for a Dubai or Sharjah government body, request its own circular. If you work for a contractor serving a ministry, ask which rules apply to your employment contract.

Keep employee working hours separate from customer-service opening hours. Before visiting a counter or attending an appointment, check the service’s own Ramadan notice. An employee-hours announcement does not establish that every counter, call centre or appointment service opens throughout that same window.

Free zones, shifts and other employment regimes

Before applying this guide to a free-zone role, ask which employment law covers the contract. In particular, obtain the relevant DIFC or ADGM provision if either regime applies. Do not copy the federal two-hour calculation into a separate regime without checking its own wording and scope.

Shift work also needs a roster-specific explanation. Ask whether an exemption is being claimed, which provision supports it and how extra hours are handled. A workplace remaining open into the evening does not explain how many hours each individual employee must work.

For a domestic-worker arrangement, request the applicable domestic-worker rules rather than using the ordinary private-sector example above. For a part-time, rotating or split shift, send HR the actual roster and ask for a calculation. This guide does not supply an unverified formula for those arrangements.

Extra work, pay questions and records

The Ramadan reduction does not answer every overtime question. Establish the applicable regime, normal roster, reduced roster, extra time and any exemption before calculating pay. Use our overtime calculator guide only after checking that its assumptions fit your employment.

If a pay change is attributed to Ramadan, ask payroll for the contractual and legal explanation in writing. Compare the explanation with your contract, attendance record and payslip. Do not assume that a shorter statutory working day is the same as a personal request to reduce contracted employment.

A useful query to HR is: “Please confirm my normal Ramadan working time, breaks, start and finish times, applicable employment regime and how authorised additional work will be recorded.” Include the dates and roster you are asking about so the response resolves a concrete issue.

If the reply does not resolve the issue, keep the contract, announcement, timesheets, messages and payslips together. Seek guidance from the authority responsible for your employment regime. Describe the hours actually worked and the explanation given, rather than relying on a screenshot with no date or employer details.

Planning for Ramadan 2027

No 2027 annual MOHRE or FAHR Ramadan-hours announcement was verified in this check. The standing executive-regulation reduction is the legal reference for covered private-sector work; the 2026 federal timetable remains a historical reference. Recheck official announcements before agreeing a final 2027 schedule.

For household planning, keep a provisional version of school collection, commuting and appointment arrangements. Confirm your employer’s actual start and finish times before booking services around them. Leave room to revise the plan when your employer issues the final roster and the official month is confirmed.

Managers can prepare a draft meeting window and identify duties needing continuous coverage without labelling that draft official. Mark the year on staff notices, name the employment group covered and link the relevant announcement. Replace the draft once the responsible authority and employer confirm the arrangements.

SettleUAE is an independent guide, not a government website, and is not affiliated with any UAE authority. This is general information, not personal legal, financial or immigration advice.