Working hours and overtime: The working day,
and what the hours after it cost.
UAE working hours, overtime limits and rates, night and rest-day pay, Ramadan hours, breaks and the summer midday break, under Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.
The short answer
Under Article 17 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, normal private-sector hours in the UAE are eight a day or 48 a week, two hours shorter each day in Ramadan. Overtime is capped at two hours a day, and total working hours, normal and overtime together, at 144 in any three weeks. Article 19 sets overtime pay at the hourly basic rate plus 25%, or plus 50% between 10 pm and 4 am.
Working hours are where attendance turns into money. The law sets a ceiling on the day, a ceiling on the overtime, and a different rate depending on when the extra hours fall, and all of it is paid on basic salary.
What are the normal working hours in the UAE?
Article 17 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 sets normal working hours at eight a day or forty-eight a week for the private sector. Time spent travelling between home and work does not count. Members of a company's board and supervisors who hold the employer's authority are outside the limits, as are some sea crews under their own conditions.
| Rule | Limit |
|---|---|
| Normal hours | 8 a day or 48 a week |
| Overtime | No more than 2 hours a day |
| Total hours | No more than 144 in any three weeks |
| Breaks | At least one hour in total, so no one works more than 5 hours in a row |
| Weekly rest | At least one paid rest day a week |
| Ramadan | 2 hours less each day |
Is a lunch break included in working hours in the UAE?
No. Article 18 says no one may work more than five hours in a row without a break or breaks of at least an hour in total, and that those breaks are not part of working hours.
So a day from 8 am to 5 pm with an hour for lunch is eight working hours. Shift work and field jobs can arrange hours and breaks differently, by their nature.
What are working hours in Abu Dhabi?
For private-sector staff in Abu Dhabi the federal limits above apply: eight hours a day or 48 a week, and two hours less each day in Ramadan. Employers set the times within those limits. Government offices keep their own hours.
Federal entities work 7:30 am to 3:30 pm from Monday to Thursday and 7:30 am to noon on Friday, and the UAE portal says the Abu Dhabi government has a similar work week. ADGM has its own employment regulations.
How is overtime paid in the UAE?
An employer can ask for overtime where the work needs it, within the two-hour daily limit and the 144-hour total over three weeks. Article 19 sets the minimum rates, all of them on basic salary. For more worked figures, see how to calculate overtime.
| When the hours fall | Minimum pay |
|---|---|
| After the normal day | The hourly basic rate plus 25% |
| Between 10 pm and 4 am | The hourly basic rate plus 50%, except for shift workers |
| On the weekly rest day | Another day off in its place, or the hourly basic rate plus 50% |
| On a public holiday | Another day off for each day worked, or the day's wage plus at least 50% of basic |
As an example, an employee on a basic salary of AED 6,000 has a daily basic rate of AED 200 and an hourly rate of AED 25. Ten hours of ordinary overtime in a month earn AED 312.50, and four night hours earn AED 150 more. An employee cannot be made to work more than two rest days in a row, except day workers.
The rate is on basic, the hours are on the record
Arguments about overtime are rarely about the rate. They are about the hours: whether they were approved, when they started and whether a punch was corrected afterwards. The record that settles it is the attendance log with its corrections, not the payroll sheet.
Price a month's overtime at the right rate from a basic salary and a count of hours.
Open the overtime calculatorHow do working hours change in Ramadan?
During Ramadan the working day is two hours shorter in the private sector, under Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022. MOHRE confirmed the reduction again for Ramadan 2026 and allowed companies to arrange flexible or remote working within the shorter day.
The reduction applies to the day, so overtime starts after the shortened day ends, not after the usual eight hours.
Which day is the weekly rest day?
Every employee is entitled to at least one paid rest day a week. The law does not say which day.
The federal government moved to a Saturday and Sunday weekend in 2022 and Sharjah's government works four days, but neither applies to private companies, which set their own weekend in the contract or company policy, and can set it differently for different sites or shifts.
When does the summer midday break apply?
From 15 June to 15 September no one may work outdoors in direct sun between 12:30 and 3 pm. The ministry has run the break every summer since 2005 and confirmed it for 2026.
An employer breaking it can be fined for each worker involved, so check the amounts in MOHRE's notice for the year. Work that cannot stop for technical reasons, such as laying asphalt or pouring concrete, is exempt.
The hours lost to the break are not overtime if the day is rearranged. A site that starts earlier or finishes later to fit eight hours around the break is still working a normal day, as long as the total stays within the limits.
Which working-time records should an employer keep?
An overtime or rest-day claim is answered from these records, so they have to exist for every employee.
- Every check-in and check-out, with how it was made and where
- Every correction to a punch, who made it and why
- Overtime requests and their approval, before or after the hours
- Which day is each employee's rest day, and every rest day worked
- Substitute days given in place of paid rest-day or holiday work
DenwaysHR prices approved overtime from basic pay at the statutory floors, applies a dated Ramadan rule, and warns when a roster passes 48 hours.
See attendanceSources
- UAE Government portal: Working hours and overtime in the private sector
- UAE Government portal: Employment laws and regulations in the private sector (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021)
- UAE Government portal: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, English text (PDF, not an official translation)
- UAE Government portal: Working hours in the public sector
Official pages, as they stood on the date above. The law is the authority; check it, or ask your adviser, before acting on a figure.
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