Published: 3 September 2026

Every year, the same question comes up for both employees and employers in the UAE: which days are actually official holidays, and what happens if you’re asked to work on one anyway? The public holiday calendar itself comes from Cabinet decisions and MOHRE circulars, while the pay rules for anyone who works through a holiday come straight from the UAE Labour Law. Getting either one wrong, as an employer or an employee, can lead to a MOHRE complaint that was entirely avoidable.

Quick answer: UAE public holidays are set by Cabinet resolution under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 (Article 28), which entitles every private-sector employee to a fully paid day off on each official holiday. If an employer needs someone to work on that day, the law requires either a substitute paid day off in lieu, or the normal day’s wage plus at least a 50% top-up, whichever the employer chooses, as a legal minimum. Islamic holiday dates (Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha, Islamic New Year, and Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday) are confirmed closer to the date because they depend on moon sighting, while fixed-date holidays like New Year’s Day and National Day are locked in from the start of the year.

The Official 2026 UAE Public Holiday Calendar

The table below reflects the confirmed and expected holidays for 2026 based on Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024 and MOHRE’s own circulars. Dates marked “moon-sighting dependent” are the government’s best current estimate and are confirmed only a day or two before they occur, once the relevant moon sighting committee announces the exact date.

This adds up to roughly 11 to 13 total holiday days across the year, depending on how many days the Cabinet confirms for each Eid once the moon-sighting dates are set. Always check the official MOHRE or u.ae holiday page closer to each Islamic holiday, since the exact number of days can shift by government announcement even in the same week the holiday falls.

What Happens When a Public Holiday Falls on a Weekend

UAE law does not automatically grant a substitute weekday off just because an official holiday lands on a Friday or Saturday. Whether a compensatory day is given depends on the specific Cabinet resolution for that holiday and, in the private sector, on individual employment contracts or company policy, since Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 does not create an automatic weekend-substitution right. In practice, this differs from the pay-for-working-a-holiday rule below, which does apply regardless of which day of the week the holiday falls on. Employees should check their own contract or company HR policy for the specific position, and employers should confirm any compensatory-day-off policy in writing before the holiday, not after.

MOHRE’s Rules on Working During a Public Holiday

This is where the law is explicit and leaves employers only two compliant options. Article 28 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 states that a worker is entitled to full pay on public holidays, and if the employer genuinely needs the employee to work on one, the employer must do one of the following for each day worked:

1. Give a substitute day off, taken in addition to the employee’s normal annual leave balance, for each public holiday actually worked, or
2. Pay the employee their normal wage for that day, plus a top-up of at least 50% of the basic wage for the hours worked on the holiday.

The choice between the two options belongs to the employer, but the 50% top-up (if that option is chosen instead of a day off) is a legal minimum, not a suggestion, and an employment contract or company policy can offer more but never less. This applies to full-time employees across the private sector and in free zones that follow the same federal labour law framework, and legal guidance on Article 28 confirms it applies to managerial staff as well as junior employees, since the article does not itself carve out an exception by seniority.

Where the 50% Figure Fits With General Overtime Rules

It helps to separate ordinary overtime from public holiday pay, since they are calculated differently:

Some HR guidance describes public holiday work as effectively paid at “250% of the normal daily rate” once you add the standard day’s pay to the 50% top-up together, which is the same rule written a different way, not an extra entitlement on top.

Who Is Exempt From These Rules

Certain categories are excluded from the maximum working hours and overtime provisions under Article 15(4) of Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, specifically employees in genuine supervisory or managerial positions with real decision-making authority, and staff working technical, continuous-shift roles where average weekly hours stay within 56 hours. Being given the job title “manager” alone does not create the exemption; MOHRE and the courts look at whether the role genuinely carries supervisory authority.

A Worked Example: Calculating Public Holiday Pay

Say an employee’s basic monthly wage is AED 6,000, working a standard 8-hour day, and the company operates on a 30-day month basis for pay calculations. Their basic daily wage works out to AED 200 (AED 6,000 divided by 30). If the employer asks them to work on a public holiday instead of giving a substitute day off, the minimum legally required payment for that day is their normal AED 200, plus at least 50% of that basic daily wage as a top-up, which is AED 100, bringing the total to at least AED 300 for that single day worked. If the employer instead chooses to give a substitute paid day off, no extra cash payment is required for that specific day, but the substitute day must be an additional day off on top of the employee’s normal annual leave balance, not deducted from it. Employers should always specify in writing which of the two options applies before the holiday, since disputes about which option was agreed are one of the more common issues MOHRE mediation sessions deal with.

Domestic Workers and Public Holidays

Domestic workers in the UAE are covered by a separate law, Federal Decree-Law No. 9 of 2022 on Domestic Workers, rather than the general private-sector labour law above. Domestic workers are also entitled to official public holidays with pay, and if required to work on one, the employer must provide compensation, though the specific compensation mechanics under the domestic workers’ framework are set out separately from Article 28 and should not be assumed identical without checking the domestic worker contract and MOHRE’s own domestic worker guidance directly.

What to Do If You Were Not Paid Correctly

If an employer required work on a public holiday and did not provide either a substitute day off or the 50% pay top-up, the correct first step under UAE law is to raise the issue directly with the employer in writing, since many disputes are resolved once the employer sees a documented Article 28 request. If that does not resolve it, an employee can file a formal complaint with MOHRE, which typically calls both parties in for a mediation session aimed at reaching an amicable settlement before the matter would need to escalate further.

Employer Compliance Checklist for Public Holidays

For HR teams and small business owners managing UAE staff, a few practical steps keep a company clearly compliant with Article 28 rather than relying on assumptions:

• Confirm the exact holiday dates as soon as MOHRE issues its circular, rather than working from an estimated calendar all year, since Islamic holiday dates are only locked in a day or two beforehand.
• Decide and document, before the holiday, which of the two Article 28 options applies to any employee being asked to work: a substitute day off or the wage-plus-50%-top-up. Verbal agreements are harder to prove if a dispute later reaches MOHRE.
• Calculate the top-up on basic wage only, not gross salary including allowances, to avoid both underpaying (a legal risk) and overpaying unnecessarily.
• Track substitute days off separately from annual leave balances in whatever HR or payroll system the company uses, since the two entitlements must not be merged or offset against each other.
• Apply the same policy consistently across seniority levels unless a role genuinely qualifies for the supervisory or continuous-shift exemption under Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, since applying the exemption to a role that does not genuinely qualify is itself a common source of MOHRE complaints.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many public holidays does the UAE have in 2026?
Based on Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024, the UAE observes seven official holiday occasions in 2026, totalling roughly 11 to 13 actual days off depending on how many days each Eid period runs, which is confirmed closer to the date by moon sighting.

Do free zone employees get the same public holidays as mainland employees?
Yes. Free zone companies operating under the standard UAE labour framework follow the same Cabinet-announced public holiday calendar and the same Article 28 pay rules as mainland private-sector employers.

Can my employer force me to work on a public holiday?
An employer can require work on a holiday if there is a genuine business need, but must then provide either a substitute paid day off or the employee’s normal wage plus at least a 50% top-up for that day.

Is the 50% holiday pay top-up calculated on my full salary or just my basic wage?
It is calculated on the basic wage only, not on housing, transport, or other allowances, consistent with how UAE Labour Law defines the wage base for overtime and holiday-work calculations generally.

What happens if a public holiday falls on my normal day off?
The law does not automatically create an extra substitute day in that specific scenario; check your employment contract or company policy, since this is one area where individual company practice varies.

Are government (public sector) holidays the same as private sector holidays?
They are usually announced together and often match, but the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources issues its own separate circular for government entities, so a small difference in an individual holiday’s exact date is possible; private-sector employees should rely on the MOHRE circular specifically.

Do managers get the same public holiday pay protection as other staff?
Generally yes. Article 28 does not exclude managers by title alone; only employees who genuinely hold supervisory authority or work qualifying continuous-shift technical roles are excluded from related working-hour provisions under Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022.

Can my employer just give me unpaid leave instead of paying holiday pay?
No. Public holidays are paid leave by law; an employer cannot substitute unpaid leave for the legally required paid holiday entitlement or the compensation due for working on one.

How is the exact date of Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha decided?
These dates depend on moon sighting, confirmed by the relevant UAE authority shortly before the holiday, which is why official sources publish only an estimated date range until the announcement.

What law actually governs UAE public holidays and holiday pay?
Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relations, specifically Article 28, together with the annual Cabinet resolution that names the specific holiday dates for that year.

Know Your Dates, Know Your Rights

The public holiday calendar changes every year because Islamic dates shift with the lunar calendar, but the pay rules under Article 28 do not change: a substitute day off, or your normal wage plus at least a 50% top-up, whichever your employer chooses. If you need help checking a specific holiday-pay calculation, a MOHRE complaint, or any other employment document, Yalah Dubai can help. Message us on WhatsApp for direct support.

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