Revealed: List of UAE public and private sector holidays in 2014

Employees in the government sector are likely to have 13 holidays in 2014 while their counterparts in the private sector are expected to enjoy 10 days off.

Here’s the list of UAE’s public holidays in 2014:

Looking at the recent precedents, a number of holidays are likely to be shifted so they can be combined with the weekends. For instance, the first day of 2014 falls on Wednesday, but it is likely that the public sector holiday for New Year’s will be moved toThursday (January 2, 2014) so it can be taken as an extended weekend.

Such a measure has been adopted previously on many occasions, in line with a Cabinet decision that authorises the shifting of official holidays to the beginning or end of the week, if the event happens to fall between two working days.

Meanwhile, private sector employees are expected to enjoy the paid holiday for New Year on Wednesday, January 1, 2014.

On the other hand, the holiday for Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) birthday will be on Monday, January 13, but for government employees, it may be advanced to Sunday(January 12) so that it can be added to the weekend.

The same may be for private companies that give Saturday off to their employees, i.e., they too may be given a holiday on Sunday (January 12), while for other private sector firms, the paid holiday is likely to remain on Monday (January 13).

The Isra’a and Mi’raj holiday will be on Monday, May 26, 2014, and that too may be shifted to Sunday for public sector employees.

Eid al-Fitr holiday will be a three-day-long affair for government employees and two days for private sector employees. For the government sector, the holiday is expected to start on Sunday, July 27, 2014, and last until Tuesday, July 29, 2014.

For the private sector, the off days are likely to be July 27-28 (Sunday and Monday) for organisations that give Saturday off. For those that don’t, the holidays are likely to be on Monday and Tuesday (July 28-29).

The holiday of Waqfat Arafat of Eid Al-Adha (4 days for government employees and 3 for private sector employees) is likely to begin on Friday, October 3, 2013.

While the Islamic New Year holiday (the Hijri holiday) is expected to fall on Saturday, October 25, 2014, it is likely to be extended to Sunday for government sector employees.

The National Day holiday falls on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 2 and 3, 2014, and is expected to be shifted to Wednesday and Thursday for government sector employees while it will be on Tuesday for private sector employees. 

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