Following the UAE’s announcement that it will transition to a four-and-a-half-day working week for government employees, questions around whether the private sector will follow suit are arising.
According to Habib Al Mulla, partner at Dubai-based Baker & McKenzie Habib Al Mulla law firm, the change in the weekend will apply to the private sector as well.
“Saturday and Sunday will be the official weekend days even for the private sector. In general, if a company wants to be different, they can be, but I doubt that anyone will take a different route,” he said in an interview with Arabian Business.
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In July of this year, amidst a period of heightened speculation, Al Mulla was one of a few UAE officials to suggest that a Saturday/Sunday weekend in the UAE could be a possibility.
“If the Ministry of Human Resources issues a circular and a notice that Saturday and Sunday are the official private sector holidays then everyone has to follow. But the question remains if the four-and-a-half-days applies or not,” Al Mulla said.
“For now, it’s not applicable and the private sector will not be forced to follow four-and-a-half working days, unless the Ministry of Human Resources issues a circular, which I doubt. I think that they will leave it to the private sector to decide what they would prefer,” he explained.
All federal government departments will move to the new weekend from January 1, 2022. From Monday to Thursday this will feature an eight-hour working day from 7.30am to 3.30pm, according to a tweet by the UAE media office.
Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, emphasised the importance of the new working week system, saying it will help boost the labour market.
“The new system will reposition the labour market as a global market and a key driver of national economy,” Al Awar stated.
He indicated that the new system would enable continuity of external transactions for the private sector’s companies and entities, safeguarding investors, and business owners’ interests.
“This will reflect positively on the workers in various business sectors and lead to increased productivity,” he added.
The UAE is the first nation in the world to introduce a national working week shorter than the global five-day week.
Al Mulla agreed with the minister, and added: “I think this will have a positive impact on businesses, as we will be more aligned with the rest of the world’s working days.”
The move is set to strengthen the nation’s competitiveness by aligning it with international stock exchanges and financial markets, in addition to international banks.
“Under the current scheme, we are cut off from the world for three days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Therefore, this does have an impact on banks and companies that work extensively with Europe, the US, or other parts of the world,” said Al Mulla.
The UAE and the rest of the Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, currently have a Sunday-Thursday work week.
With an additional half-day weekend for the public sector, Al Mulla believes that a positive impact will be felt across the hospitality, leisure, and retail sectors.
“Families will go out more, whether to restaurants, cinemas, or for activities….there will be more expenditure, which ultimately will have an impact on the circulation of funds within the economy,” he added.
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, social and family ties and the overall wellbeing of people in the UAE.
“This is a social change. With any social change, you’ll find people who accept it and people who reject it, but at the end of the day, people will have to adjust,” Al Mulla added.
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