Working Hours and Overtime in The United Arab Emirates

What Are The Standard Working Hours In United Arab Emirates?

An employee whose age is 15 or younger has a maximum of 6 hours per day and 30 hours per week. An employee whose age is 18 or older is allowed to work 48 hours per week. A minimum meal interval of 60 minutes must be observed by employees who work more than 5 consecutive hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 9:00 to 18:00.

Maximum Working Hours In United Arab Emirates

Under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the normal maximum working time is 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week for most private sector employees. During Ramadan, daily working hours are typically reduced by 2 hours per day for Muslim employees, which effectively caps normal hours at 6 hours per day while maintaining the 48-hour weekly ceiling.

Working time can be organized on a daily or weekly basis, allowing you to schedule up to 48 hours over fewer than six days as long as the weekly cap is respected. You must keep accurate records of hours worked and ensure that any work beyond the statutory limits is treated and compensated as overtime in line with the law.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

The law allows the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation to approve different patterns of work for certain sectors where continuous operations are required. This commonly affects activities such as ports, oil and gas, hospitality, security, and other services that must operate 24/7, where shifts may extend beyond 8 hours but the average weekly limit must still not exceed 48 hours.

In practice, you may use shift systems that spread hours unevenly across days, provided that daily working time does not normally exceed 8 hours and weekly time does not exceed 48 hours without triggering overtime. Any extension of daily hours up to 2 additional hours is treated as overtime and must comply with the statutory overtime rules.

• Healthcare professionals may work 12-hour shifts with extended rest periods.
• Transport workers must comply with EU-aligned rest and driving limits.
• Manufacturing and security staff often rotate through night or weekend shifts.

Even in these sectors, you must ensure the average weekly limit is respected over a reference period. You should document any approved deviations from standard hours and ensure that overtime premiums are correctly applied when daily or weekly thresholds are exceeded.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

Certain categories of workers in United Arab Emirates are excluded from the standard working time and overtime provisions, including senior managerial or supervisory employees who have authority over other staff and significant decision-making powers. Employees in advisory positions or those who are entrusted with managing the entire establishment may also fall outside the normal hours and overtime regime.

For these exempt employees, you should clearly document their status and responsibilities in the employment contract and internal policies. Even when overtime premiums are not legally required for them, it is prudent to manage workloads reasonably and consider fixed allowances or higher base salaries to reflect the expectation of longer or irregular hours.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In United Arab Emirates

Full-time work in United Arab Emirates is generally based on 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, spread over a maximum of six working days. Many employers, especially in professional and office-based roles, adopt a 40–45 hour workweek as a contractual standard while remaining within the statutory ceiling.

The law also recognizes part-time, temporary, and flexible working arrangements, which allow you to contract for fewer hours while still applying the same protections on a pro rata basis. When employees work less than the full-time standard, overtime only begins once they exceed the contractual hours or the statutory thresholds, whichever is higher.

Overtime Regulations In United Arab Emirates

Overtime in United Arab Emirates is tightly regulated, and you are required to track all hours worked beyond the normal schedule and pay statutory premiums where applicable. You must maintain accurate time records, including start and end times and any breaks, so that you can demonstrate compliance during inspections or in the event of a dispute. Failure to manage overtime correctly can lead to back-pay claims, administrative fines, and reputational risk.

What Counts As Overtime In United Arab Emirates?

Overtime is generally any time worked beyond 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week for employees covered by the standard regime. If you adopt a shorter contractual workweek, such as 40 or 45 hours, hours worked beyond that contractual limit may also be treated as overtime under the employment contract even if they remain within the statutory 48-hour ceiling.

Work performed between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. is considered night work and, when it exceeds normal hours, it attracts a higher premium of 150% of the basic hourly wage. Work performed on the employee’s weekly rest day or on official public holidays is also treated as overtime and must be compensated at enhanced rates or with paid time off in lieu.

Maximum Overtime In United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates law limits overtime to a maximum of 2 hours per day, meaning that total daily working time should not normally exceed 10 hours except in very limited emergency situations. On this basis, the practical cap is 14 hours of overtime per week if an employee works 2 extra hours on each of 7 days, although in most cases employees will work 6 days or fewer.

In addition, the law requires that the total number of hours, including overtime, remains reasonable and does not endanger the employee’s health or safety. Any systematic use of overtime close to the 2-hour daily limit should be justified by business necessity, documented, and monitored, and you should avoid scheduling patterns that would push employees beyond 10 hours per day on a regular basis.

Overtime Payout Rates In United Arab Emirates

For overtime worked on a normal working day outside night hours, you must pay at least 125% of the employee’s basic hourly wage, which is a 25% premium over the normal rate. For overtime worked between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m., the premium increases to at least 150% of the basic hourly wage, equivalent to a 50% uplift, unless the employee is a shift worker whose schedule normally falls in that period.

When an employee works on their weekly rest day, you must either grant a substitute rest day and pay the normal wage or pay at least 150% of the basic hourly wage for the hours worked. For work on official public holidays, the typical requirement is either a paid day off in lieu plus the normal wage or payment of at least 150% of the basic wage for the hours worked, and many employers choose to pay 200% (2.0x) as a market practice to remain competitive.

Rest Periods And Breaks In United Arab Emirates

Employees in United Arab Emirates typically work up to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, and the law links specific rest periods and breaks to these standard hours. During the working day, employees must not work more than 5 consecutive hours without a break, and daily and weekly rest rules are designed to ensure sufficient recovery time between shifts. As an employer, you must structure schedules so that these breaks and rest periods are actually taken in practice, not just written into policy.

• Meal Break: Employees must receive one or more breaks totaling at least 60 minutes if they work more than 5 consecutive hours in a day in United Arab Emirates. This break time is not counted as working time if the employee is fully relieved of duties.
• Daily Rest: There must be a minimum of 11 consecutive hours of rest between the end of one workday and the start of the next for most employees in United Arab Emirates. You should avoid scheduling split shifts that would reduce this rest period.
• Weekly Rest: Employees are entitled to at least one paid weekly rest day, which is commonly Sunday or Friday in United Arab Emirates depending on the sector. Many employers provide two consecutive weekly rest days to align with a five-day workweek.
• Minors: Workers under 18 in United Arab Emirates face stricter limits, including a maximum of 6 hours per day and a prohibition on working more than 4 consecutive hours without a break. They are also not allowed to work at night or on certain hazardous tasks.
• Employer Duty: You are responsible for organizing work so that statutory breaks and rest periods are observed in United Arab Emirates. Timekeeping systems and clear shift rosters are essential to prove compliance if inspected by authorities.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In United Arab Emirates

Night and weekend work are legal in United Arab Emirates but they trigger additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must pay statutory premiums where required, monitor working time and fatigue risks, and ensure that vulnerable groups such as minors and pregnant workers are not assigned to prohibited schedules.

Night work in United Arab Emirates is generally defined as work performed between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. for employees covered by the standard working time rules. This definition applies across most roles in the private sector, except for certain shift-based operations where night work is part of the normal pattern and is treated differently for premium purposes.

• Premium Pay: For overtime hours worked between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m., you must pay at least 150% of the employee’s basic hourly wage, which is a 50% premium over the normal rate in United Arab Emirates. Shift workers whose regular schedule falls at night may instead receive a fixed shift allowance, but many employers still target a 125%–150% effective rate to remain competitive.
• Health Monitoring: While the law does not mandate periodic medical examinations for all night workers, you are required to protect employee health and safety in United Arab Emirates. For regular night staff, it is good practice to offer health assessments and fatigue management measures, especially in safety-sensitive roles.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors under 18 are prohibited from working at night in United Arab Emirates, particularly in industrial or hazardous environments. Pregnant workers should not be assigned to night shifts or extended hours where this would pose a risk to their health or the health of the fetus, and you should consider medical recommendations when arranging their schedules.

Weekend work is permitted in United Arab Emirates, but employees must receive at least one paid weekly rest day, which is commonly Sunday or Friday depending on the business. When employees work on their weekly rest day, you must either provide a substitute rest day or pay a premium of at least 150% of the basic hourly wage for the hours worked, and many employers voluntarily pay 200% for weekend and public holiday work to attract staff.