The UAE Government has announced plans to adopt a new four and a half day working week, effective from January 1, 2022.
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The move applies to Federal government entities and comes alongside new working hours, with Monday to Thursday workdays now starting at 7.30am and ending at 3.30pm and Friday working hours from 7.30am 12.00pm, said a statement.
Alongside the move, Friday sermons and prayers across the Emirates will be held from 1.15pm. Government staff will have the flexibility to make arrangements to work from home on Fridays, as well as to arrange their working hours on a flexi time basis.
The UAE is the first nation in the world to introduce a national working week shorter than the global five day week.
From an economic perspective, the new working week will better align the Emirates with global markets, reflecting the country’s strategic status on the global economic map.
It will ensure smooth financial, trade and economic transactions with countries that follow a Saturday/Sunday weekend, facilitating stronger international business links and opportunities for thousands of UAE based and multinational companies, said the statement.
The new working week will also bring the UAE’s financial sector into closer alignment with global real time trading and communications based transactions such as those driving global stock markets, banks and financial institutions.
The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources proposed the new workweek following comprehensive benchmarking and feasibility studies reflecting potential impacts of the move on the economy, on social and family ties and on the overall wellbeing of people in the Emirates, it added. ■
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