Working Hours Under UAE Labour Law: The Rules

Working hours are the rules every payroll and every shift rota depends on, and the ones that decide how much overtime an employer owes. The UAE labour law sets them precisely: the daily and weekly limits, the breaks, the rest day, the hours in Ramadan and the cap on overtime. This guide sets out each rule for the UAE mainland private sector, with the article it comes from.

Who these rules cover

The rules come from Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the UAE labour law, and its executive regulations, Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022. They apply to private-sector employees on the mainland in every emirate. The DIFC and ADGM free zones, the government sector and domestic workers have their own rules.

The daily and weekly limits

The maximum ordinary working time is 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week (Article 17). The Cabinet can raise or lower these hours for particular sectors or categories of worker.

Rule	What the law says	Legal basis
Ordinary hours	No more than 8 a day or 48 a week	Article 17
Breaks	No more than 5 consecutive hours without a break; breaks of at least 1 hour in total	Article 18
Travel to and from work	Not counted as working time, with three exceptions	Article 17 and Article 15 of the executive regulations
Weekly rest	At least one paid rest day a week	Article 21
Ramadan	Normal working hours reduced by two hours a day	Article 15 of the executive regulations
Overtime	No more than 2 hours a day; total hours no more than 144 in any three weeks	Article 19

Breaks

An employee must not work more than five consecutive hours without a break, and the breaks during the working day must add up to at least one hour (Article 18). Break time does not count as working hours. For shift work and work in the field, the breaks are arranged under the executive regulations.

Travel time

The time an employee spends travelling between home and work does not count as working hours (Article 17). The executive regulations make three exceptions: delays caused by bad weather under the warnings of the National Centre of Meteorology, delays in transport the employer provides because of an accident or a breakdown, and cases where the employment contract says travel time counts.

The weekly rest day

Every employee is entitled to a paid weekly rest of at least one day, and the Cabinet can increase it (Article 21). An employee who works on the rest day earns either another day off or the day's normal wage plus at least 50% of the basic wage, and an employee cannot be made to work more than two consecutive rest days, except for workers paid by the day (Article 19).

Working hours in Ramadan

During Ramadan, normal working hours are reduced by two hours a day (Article 15 of the executive regulations). The UAE Government portal states that the reduction applies to Muslim and non-Muslim employees alike, without any cut in pay, and MOHRE's announcement for Ramadan 2026 also allowed employers to use flexible or remote working within the reduced hours.

The midday break in summer

From 15 June to 15 September every year, work under direct sunlight and in open places is banned from 12:30 to 3pm, under Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022. MOHRE announces the start of each season and the work that is exempt. The details are in our guide to the UAE midday break.

Overtime

Overtime is allowed within limits: no more than two hours a day, and total working hours must not exceed 144 in any three weeks (Article 19). Longer overtime is allowed only to prevent or limit a serious loss or a serious accident. The premiums are calculated on the basic wage:

Overtime	Premium
Ordinary overtime	The normal hourly wage plus at least 25%
Between 10pm and 4am, outside shift work	The normal hourly wage plus at least 50%
On the weekly rest day	Another day off, or the day's wage plus at least 50% of the basic wage
On a public holiday	Another day off, or the day's wage plus at least 50% of the basic wage (Article 28)

Our guide to UAE overtime rules covers the calculations and the record keeping behind them.

Who is outside the limits

The executive regulations exclude some roles from the working hours limits: chairs and members of a company's board, supervisors who hold the employer's authority, ships' crews, continuous technical shift work where the hours average no more than 56 a week, and preparatory or supplementary work.

What employers need in place

Attendance recorded where the work happens. The limits, the breaks and the overtime caps can only be shown with real records of who worked when. Records written up at the end of the month prove nothing in a dispute.

Rotas built inside the limits. A rota that needs more than two hours of overtime a day, or more than 144 hours in three weeks, breaks the law before anyone starts work.

A Ramadan rota ready in advance. The two-hour reduction applies to every private-sector employee for the whole month.

Overtime calculated on the basic wage. The premiums use the basic wage, so payroll needs it separately from the full wage. Our guide to basic salary under UAE labour law explains what else it drives.

For the wider picture, see our UAE labour law guide for employers.

The bottom line

Under UAE labour law, ordinary working time is no more than 8 hours a day or 48 a week, with a break within every five hours, at least one paid rest day a week, two hours less a day in Ramadan, the midday ban on outdoor work in summer, and overtime capped at two hours a day and 144 hours in three weeks, paid on the basic wage plus at least 25% or 50%.

When tamdeed runs the employment administration for a company that sponsors its own staff, attendance is recorded on the platform and payroll is computed from it, so the hours on a payslip are the hours that were worked. See how tamdeed runs PEO in the UAE, or for a company with no UAE entity, employer of record.

Sources: Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, Articles 17, 18, 19, 21 and 28; Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022, Article 15; Ministerial Resolution No. 44 of 2022; the UAE Government portal on working hours and Ramadan. Checked on 14 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice; confirm your own case with MOHRE or a qualified adviser.

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