UAE public holidays 2027: The 2027 holidays,
fixed and expected.

What are the UAE public holidays in 2027?

That is 12 days off on these dates, or 13 if Ramadan runs to 30 days and Eid Al Fitr gains a day. The list is the same for government and private-sector employees.

Have the 2027 UAE public holidays been announced?

Not as at 2 November 2026. The UAE Government portal's holiday page, updated on 29 October 2026, gives each holiday by its fixed Gregorian date or its Hijri date, with no year, and says Islamic holidays are determined by moon sighting. We found no 2027 calendar from the Cabinet, MOHRE or the Emirates News Agency.

The days off themselves are confirmed holiday by holiday. In 2025, for example, MOHRE announced on 26 August that Friday 5 September would be the paid private-sector holiday for the Prophet's Birthday. Plan on the table above, then use the days MOHRE announces.

How were the expected dates worked out?

The UAE portal names the Islamic holidays by Hijri date, such as 10 to 12 Dhu al-Hijjah for Eid Al Adha. We converted each one with the Umm al-Qura calendar, Saudi Arabia's official calculated calendar, published by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. These are the month starts it gives:

Umm al-Qura is worked out in advance. The UAE holidays follow moon sighting, so the confirmed date for any of them can differ from this table by a day.

What if Ramadan lasts 30 days?

The portal's list adds a rule for Eid Al Fitr: if Ramadan lasts 30 days, the 30th day is also an official holiday. On the Umm al-Qura calendar Ramadan 1448 has 29 days, from 8 February to 8 March 2027, so Eid Al Fitr is expected on 9 to 11 March. If the UAE's Ramadan starts on 8 February and runs to 30 days, 9 March becomes the 30th of Ramadan and the holiday runs from Tuesday 9 to Friday 12 March.

What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?

The UAE Government portal quotes Article 3 of Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024: a public holiday is not transferred to another day when it coincides with another public holiday or falls on the weekend.

• On a Saturday and Sunday weekend, four of the expected dates fall on it: Arafah Day (Saturday 15 May), the first day of Eid Al Adha (Sunday 16 May), Hijri New Year (Sunday 6 June) and the Prophet's Birthday (Saturday 14 August)
• Where Friday is the weekly rest day, New Year's Day (1 January) and the second day of National Day (3 December) both fall on it
• The pages we read do not give an employee another day when a holiday lands on their rest day, so write your own treatment into the leave policy rather than deciding it each time

Is 1 December, Commemoration Day, a public holiday?

It is not on the list the UAE Government portal publishes under Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024. That list gives National Day as 2 and 3 December. In 2024 the federal Eid Al Etihad holiday was Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 December, which WAM reported as in line with the Cabinet's holiday calendar for the government and private sectors.

For 2027, plan on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 December, and check MOHRE's announcement for the private sector in November 2027.

Are public holidays paid in the private sector?

Yes. The UAE Government portal says private-sector employees are entitled to paid leave on the public holidays observed in the country, and the holiday list applies to the public and private sectors alike. See the leave entitlements guide for the other kinds of leave.

What is owed when an employee works on a public holiday?

Under Article 28 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, an employee who is required to work on a public holiday gets either another day off in its place, or the wage for that day plus at least 50 per cent of the day's basic wage.

On a package of AED 7,000 with a basic salary of AED 4,800, the paid option is AED 233.33 for the day plus AED 80, or AED 313.33. The overtime guide works through the same figures, and explains why the day's wage here includes allowances.

Does a holiday during annual leave add a day?

Not by default. The UAE Government portal says public holidays that fall within a period of annual leave count as part of it, unless the employment contract or company policy gives the employee better terms. Someone who books 10 to 23 May 2027 is expected to have Arafah Day and the three days of Eid Al Adha inside that leave, so those days come off the leave balance unless your policy says otherwise.

How does Ramadan 2027 change working hours?

In the private sector the working day is two hours shorter in Ramadan: eight hours become six. On the Umm al-Qura calendar Ramadan 1448 is expected from Monday 8 February to Monday 8 March 2027, with the start and end set by moon sighting.

Overtime starts sooner on those days, because the normal day is shorter. The working hours guide sets out the Ramadan rules, and the overtime guide has a worked Ramadan example.

Which 2027 holidays affect the payroll deadline?

Under Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, a month's wages are due on the first day of the next month through the Wage Protection System. December 2026 wages are therefore due on Friday 1 January 2027, which is New Year's Day.

The u.ae summary of the resolution does not move the due date for a holiday or a weekend. Send the December salary file to your bank before the end of December, and check its cut-off for the last working days of the year. The late salary guide sets out what follows a missed date.

What should HR set up before 2027?

• Enter 1 January and 2 and 3 December now, as fixed dates
• Enter the Islamic holidays as expected dates, marked as provisional, and change each one when MOHRE announces it
• Give branches in other countries their own calendars: Saudi Arabia and Qatar set their own holidays
• Decide in the policy whether holiday work earns a day off or the Article 28 payment, and who chooses
• Set the Ramadan working day for the expected dates, and move it if the month starts a day later
• Bring the December payroll forward so the salary file reaches the bank before 1 January