UAE weekend change: Saturday-Sunday off,work week is 4.5 days

In a major shift the United Arab Emirates is slashing its official working week to four-and-a-half days and moving its weekend to Saturday and Sunday. The "national working week" is mandatory for government bodies from January 1 and bucks the regional norm of a full day-off on Friday for Muslim prayers. According to official information, under the new timetable, the public-sector weekend starts at noon on Fridays and ends on Sunday. Friday prayers at mosques will be held after 1:15 pm all year round. The UAE observed a Thursday-Friday weekend until 2006, when it moved to Fridays and Saturdays with the private sector following suit.

The move is intended to "better align the UAE with global markets", said state news agency WAM, calling the new working week the shortest in the world. "The UAE is the first nation in the world to introduce a national working week shorter than the global five-day week," it said. "The extended weekend comes as part of the UAE government's efforts to boost work-life balance and enhance social wellbeing, while increasing performance to advance the UAE's economic competitiveness," the WAM report said. "From an economic perspective, the new working week will better align the UAE with global markets, reflecting the country's strategic status on the global economic map," it added. "It will ensure smooth financial, trade and economic transactions with countries that follow a Saturday/Sunday weekend, facilitating stronger international business links and opportunities for thousands of UAE-based and multinational companies." WAM said.