Count working days
Note: Educational estimate for planning. Confirm final amounts on official channels.
Why "is Saturday a working day in the UAE" has no single answer
In January 2022 the UAE moved its federal public sector to a four-and-a-half-day week: Monday to Thursday in full, Friday morning, and a Saturday-Sunday weekend. Schools and universities followed.
The private sector was never required to. A great many firms switched because their clients and counterparties did, but it was not mandated, and some still run Sunday to Thursday. Published guidance disagrees on how common each pattern now is, which is itself a sign there is no single answer to give.
Sharjah went further, putting its public sector on a four-day week with Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. So an Abu Dhabi government employee, a Dubai private-sector employee and a Sharjah government employee can all be right about completely different weekends.
That is why this calculator asks rather than assumes. What UAE labour law does fix is the outer limit: a maximum of 48 hours a week and at least one rest day in every week.
Public holidays move, and two of them move a lot
The fixed-date holidays — New Year’s Day, Commemoration Day and Eid Al Etihad — can be counted with confidence. The Islamic ones cannot: Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha, the Hijri New Year and the Prophet’s Birthday are confirmed by moon sighting and announced close to the date.
Eid Al Fitr carries an extra uncertainty on top of that: three days if Ramadan runs 29 days, four if it runs 30, and nobody knows which until the night before. So a working-day count spanning either Eid is an estimate, and this page says so rather than presenting it as exact.
The public holidays page lists every date with how certain each one is.
What it is actually useful for
Notice periods. Contracts usually specify calendar days rather than working days, but if yours counts working days, this is the count. The notice period calculator handles the calendar-day case.
Visa and document processing. Government and typing-centre turnaround times are quoted in working days, and a three-working-day job spanning a long Eid weekend takes well over a week.
Project planning and billing. A consultant quoting a day rate needs the working days in the month, and UAE months vary more than most because of where the holidays land.
Leave planning. Pairing this with the holiday list shows which leave days buy the longest break.
Worked examples
About 261 weekdays, less the public holidays that fall on them — typically 12 to 14 — giving roughly 248 working days.
About 209 weekdays before holidays, roughly 50 fewer than a five-day pattern.
Four paid holiday days, and if they land midweek the leave arithmetic changes sharply. Run it both ways while the date is still unconfirmed.
How to use this calculator
- Set the two dates — both are counted, inclusive.
- Pick the working week you actually work, not the one you assume is standard.
- Leave public holidays excluded unless you specifically want calendar working days.
- Read the working-day count and the holidays that fell inside the range.
- If the range spans an Eid, treat the figure as approximate until the date is announced.
- Check your contract where the count matters for notice or leave.
Frequently asked questions
Is Saturday a working day in the UAE?
It depends who you work for. The federal public sector moved to a Saturday-Sunday weekend in January 2022, and most private firms followed, but the private sector was never required to and some still work Sunday to Thursday. Sharjah’s public sector takes Friday, Saturday and Sunday off.
How many working days are there in a year in the UAE?
On a Monday-to-Friday pattern, about 261 weekdays less the public holidays falling on them — typically 12 to 14 — so roughly 248. A Sharjah four-day week gives about 209 before holidays. This calculator counts it for your own pattern and dates.
What is the UAE weekend?
Saturday and Sunday for the federal public sector since January 2022, with Friday worked as a half day. The private sector commonly follows but is not obliged to. Sharjah’s public sector has a three-day weekend from Friday.
Does the private sector have to follow the Saturday-Sunday weekend?
No. The 2022 change applied to federal government entities, schools and universities. Private employers were free to adopt it and many did, but guidance explicitly notes it was not made mandatory for them.
How many hours can I be asked to work in the UAE?
UAE labour law sets a maximum of 48 hours per working week and requires at least one rest day in each week. Overtime beyond normal hours carries additional compensation.
Are public holidays counted as working days?
Not by default here — the calculator excludes them, which is usually what people want. You can switch that off if you need plain working days ignoring holidays.
Why might the count be approximate?
Because Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha, the Hijri New Year and the Prophet’s Birthday are confirmed by moon sighting and announced close to the date. Eid Al Fitr can also be three or four days depending on whether Ramadan runs 29 or 30 days. Any range spanning one of those is an estimate.
Do you store my numbers?
No. Calculations run in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. See our Privacy Policy for analytics and AdSense cookie details.
Where these figures come from
The working-week options reflect the January 2022 change, under which the federal public sector moved to Monday to Thursday plus a Friday half day with a Saturday-Sunday weekend, applying to government entities, schools and universities. The private sector was not required to follow, which is stated explicitly in UAE legal commentary, and Sharjah introduced a four-day week for its public sector. UAE labour law sets a maximum of 48 hours per working week and a minimum of one rest day per week.
Why the pattern is an input and not an assumption. Sources disagree on what private firms actually do now — one 2026 guide still describes Friday and Saturday as the standard private-sector days off, against others describing Saturday-Sunday as effectively universal. Rather than pick a side and be wrong for a large share of readers, the page asks.
Last checked against the source: 30 October 2026. Public holiday dates come from this site’s holidays page; the Islamic ones are expectations confirmed by moon sighting, not announcements. Not legal advice. Not affiliated with MoHRE or any UAE authority.
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Disclaimer
Disclaimer: Educational tool. The UAE has no single working week — the federal public sector, the private sector and Sharjah differ, and the private sector was never required to adopt the 2022 change, which is why the pattern is an input. Islamic public holiday dates are expectations confirmed by moon sighting and may move by a day. Not legal advice. Not affiliated with any UAE authority.