DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Private companies will have the freedom to choose their own working week due to the 2 day working week with a Saturday and Sunday weekend from the start of next year.
The Gulf state, the region's commercial, trade and tourism hub, currently has a Friday and Saturday weekend. The weekend will start on Friday, including schools, from January 1, according to a government circular.
The Minister for Human Resources and Emiratisation Abdulrahman al-Awar said that each company, depending on the sector they operate in and what suits and serves their business best, can choose the weekend they decide for their employees.
The UAE has taken measures to make its economy more attractive to foreign investment and talent at a time of growing economic rivalry with Saudi Arabia over the past year.
The government said Friday that work would end at 12 p.m. before Muslim prayers, which would be unified across the UAE on Friday, in the wake of any religious sensitivities in the Sunni Muslim-ruled country.
It said the longer weekend would improve employees work-life balance and that several majority-Muslim nations, such as Indonesia and Morocco, have Saturday-Sunday weekends.
The move will facilitate stronger international business links and opportunities for UAE-based and multinational firms, and will ensure smooth financial, trade and economic transactions with countries that follow a Saturday and Sunday weekend.
Al-Awar said that UAE stock exchanges would be more integrated with global markets because of the change, which will affect state entities like the central bank, which would communicate details about the new working hours to commercial banks.
He said that this change will help the banking sector in the UAE with the banking community and will eliminate the gap that existed in the past.
Mohammed Ali Yasin, head strategy officer at Al Dhabi Capital, said the financial sector would benefit from being able to make simultaneous payment settlements with developed markets and the tourism industry would also be a beneficiary.
He said it could be a good experiment for other countries in the region.
Friday is a weekly holiday in the other five Gulf Arab states and many predominantly Muslim countries.
Monica Malik, an economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, said she expects to see many private sector companies in the UAE follow the Saturday-Sunday weekend, describing the move as a very meaningful development alongside other recent reforms.
The UAE has liberalized laws regarding cohabitation before marriage, alcohol, and personal status laws, in addition to the introduction of longer-term visas to lure businesses and talent.