UAE Publishes the Right of Foreign Workers on all official public holiday
- UAE labour law guarantees workers full pay on all official public holidays as determined by the Cabinet
- The law sets out two options employers must follow when they require a worker to come in on a public holiday
- Workers who are asked to work on a public holiday are entitled to either a replacement rest day or extra pay
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The United Arab Emirates Labour Law, under Article 28, gives every worker the right to paid leave on all official public holidays, with those holidays set by Cabinet resolution.
The provision covers what happens when an employer needs a worker to be on duty during a holiday period.
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What UAE workers are owed on public holidays
Under the first clause of Article 28, workers cannot be required to give up a public holiday without receiving something in return.
If business needs make it unavoidable for a worker to report to work on an official holiday, the employer must either grant a full replacement rest day for each holiday worked, or pay the worker their normal daily wage plus an additional amount of at least 50% of their basic wage for that day.
The two options give employers some flexibility in how they compensate staff, but the minimum threshold is fixed. A worker cannot receive less than one-and-a-half times their basic daily rate when they work a day that was legally meant to be a holiday.
How the compensation rule works
To put the pay rule in practical terms: if a worker's basic daily wage is AED 300, the employer must pay at least AED 150 on top of that for the holiday, bringing the minimum payout for that day to AED 450, in addition to whatever other allowances the worker normally earns.
The choice between a replacement rest day and the enhanced pay rate sits with the employer, but neither option can be waived or reduced by agreement. The 50% uplift on the basic wage is a legal floor, not a starting point for negotiation.
The Cabinet retains authority to update the list of official public holidays, meaning the number of days covered by Article 28 can change from year to year based on government decisions.
UAE publishes what workers must know about harrassment rules
Legit.ng earlier reported that the United Arab Emirates Labour Law, under Article 14, lays out firm protections for workers by prohibiting forced labour, workplace harassment, and all forms of violence by employers or colleagues.
Source: Legit.ng
