Daijiworld Media Network - Dubai
Dubai, Nov 7: The UAE has announced that it will transition to a four-and-a-half day working week, with Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday forming the new weekend.. All Federal government departments will move to the new weekend from January 1, 2022.
"The UAE is the first nation in the world to introduce a national working week shorter than the global five-day week," official news agency WAM reported.
The working week will start on Monday and end by Friday afternoon. The working hours for federal employees are set to be from 7.30am to 3.30pm, with 8.5 working hours per day. On Friday, employees will work for 4.5 hours.
On Fridays, employees will also be allowed to choose flexible work or work-from-home options. The announcement also said that Friday sermons and prayers would be held after 1.15pm across the UAE all year long.