Public holidays in UAE exceed Europe and US but fall short of neighbours

Regionally, the UAE had fewer national holidays last year compared with many Middle Eastern countries, with the public sector getting 15 days while Lebanon had 18 days, Egypt 19 days and Saudi Arabia 23.

People walk along the Corniche in Abu Dhabi on the first day of of Eid Al Adha, which was one of 15 public sector holidays in the UAE last year. Christopher Pike / The National

DUBAI // Government employees in the UAE enjoyed 15 days of public holidays last year – more than workers in Europe or North America.

And while private-sector staff received less, averaging about eight public holidays last year, this is still on a par with the UK and Canada.

But many other countries in the region offer more public holidays, especially Saudi Arabia, where last year employees had 23 days off.

“The private sector needs more public holidays because, at the moment, it’s not enough,” said Stephanie Rossler, 26, from Frankfurt, Germany.

“One of the problems is that we only find out how much holiday we get a couple of days before, so you can’t even plan for anything.”

Some private companies do not include public holidays as separate from annual leave.

“At my previous employer, public holidays were taken out of my annual leave balance, so it was not of benefit to us,” said Ms Rossler, a project manager.

“That has changed at my new job but it is still disappointing that we get so few public holidays compared with the public sector.

“The private sector in the UAE is in line with the number of holidays people get in Europe, which isn’t enough.”

This year's public holidays were announced by the Government of Abu Dhabi this week.

It stands at 13 days but this is likely to increase depending on whether the Government decides to give more days for Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha.

In previous years, the Eid Al Fitr holiday at the end of Ramadan was extended by three or four days.

Jens Lund, managing director of IT-Serve, which is based in Dubai, said he was happy with the number of public holidays for the private sector.

“As a business owner, the ones we have at the moment are fine,” he said. “The problem is that every time there are more holidays, it affects business.

“The biggest thing for the business community would be to have a clearer idea of when holidays are taking place.

“Although we have some government clients, the vast majority of our work is done with the private sector so, if one of them is working on a holiday, so do we.”

Asma Al Khoory, an Emirati who works for the Cleveland Clinic, which is run by a government-owned company, Mubadala, is generally happy with the number of public holidays she receives.

“If it was possible, I would prefer if we got a few more days for the end of Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr because that is an important time for us,” she said.

“I also think the private sector should be given the same amount of public holidays as the public sector.

“They work weekends and have longer hours so I know that we are very fortunate working for the Government.”

Sara Hussein, a British expatriate who works in admin in the private sector in Dubai, said she was used to having fewer days off than government workers.

“In the UK, we get very few public holidays so, in that respect, I’m not surprised at the number we have here,” said the 34-year-old, from Manchester.

"It would be nice if both the public and private-sector holidays were brought into line and we had the same time off.

“The Government wants to encourage Emiratis into the private sector but you can’t blame them for opting for government jobs with the extra holidays they get.”

Regionally, the UAE had fewer national holidays when compared with many Middle Eastern countries last year.

Lebanon had 18 days last year, Egypt 19 days and Saudi Arabia 23.

Qatar has 10 announced public holidays but that number usually increases to 22, with 12 days off for Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr for the public sector.

Although there are regional and religious variations, India has 17 days off, Pakistan has 14 days, with Christians also getting Boxing Day off, and the Philippines has 18 days.

People in Europe and North America have significantly less time off.

In the UK, it is eight days, although Scotland and Northern Ireland get extra days. Workers in France get 11 days and the United States and Canada receive 10 and eight, respectively.