The Eid Al Adha 2025 common vacation has been officially announced by the UAE. The vacation begins on Thursday, June 5 with Arafat Day and continues with Eid Al Adha on Friday, June 6, Saturday, June 7, and Sunday, June 8 following the moon-sighting agency’s validation on Tuesday, May 27. Due to this, the UAE’s public and private sectors will have a four-day long trip, which will allow several people to spend more time with their loved ones, travel, or leisure actions.
No weekends off-peak time added
Although Saturday and Sunday are already included in the ordinary weekends, the UAE Labour Law doesn’t require a punitive day off when public holidays are observed on weekends. Public holidays are not carried forward if they occur on another common holiday or on the weekend, according to the UAE Cabinet, according to Imran Khan, a Dubai-based legal expert.” An employer and employee is reach an agreement for a split day down, but nothing is especially related to it in the UAE Labour Law,” he told Gulf News. Keystone Law Middle East LLP Partner Priyasha Corrie added that the location is in line with the recent Employment Law. People are entitled to 30 days of monthly left under Article 29 of the novel UAE Labour Law. If a public holiday coincides with the employee’s annual left, the common holiday is credited with the employee’s annual leave. Therefore, the employee doesn’t receive any additional days off,” Corrie told Gulf News. No replacement day off is granted, she added, if an employee’s weekly day off coincides with a public holiday. An employee does not receive an additional day off if a public holiday coincides with an employee’s weekly day off, she said. Employees who are required to work during the official Eid holiday must be given appropriate compensation. According to Corrie,” If an employee has to work on any official holiday, then the employer must pay the employee the salary for that day plus an increase of not less than 50 % of the basic salary for that day” or give him or her another holiday break.
What are Eid Al Adha and Arafat Day?
For Muslims who are not in Mecca performing the pilgrimage, Arafat Day, which falls on the ninth day of Dhu Al Hijjah, is a significant day in the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage and is marked by fasting and spiritual reflection. The” Festival of Sacrifice,” Eid Al Adha, commemorates the sacrifice and devotion of Prophet Ibrahim on Dhu Al Hijjah’s tenth day. The second of the two major Islamic holidays, Eid Al Fitr the first, comes to mind. Celebrations typically begin with a morning prayer, followed by gatherings with friends and family, gift exchanges, and charitable giving. Celebrations in Dubai include live music, fireworks, and other city-wide events.
Why do public holidays in the UAE change annually?
The Hijri calendar, also known as the Islamic lunar calendar, is used to determine religious holidays like Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha. Contrary to the Gregorian calendar, which is based on the movement of the sun, this calendar is based on the phases of the moon. This fundamental difference in timekeeping practices explains why Islamic events change annually in relation to the Gregorian calendar. Because the Hijri calendar is roughly 10 to 12 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, the Gregorian calendar moves about 10 days earlier than the Gregorian calendar for holidays like Ramadan, Eid Al Fitr, and Eid Al Adha. Official Islamic holiday dates in the UAE are only confirmed after the crescent moon is seen by a government-appointed moon-sighting committee because the Hijri calendar follows the lunar cycle.
Key Dates in Summary:
Arafat Day: Thursday, June 5, 2025Eid Al Adha: Friday, June 6 through Sunday, June 8, 2025Total Days Off: 4 days ( Thursday through Sunday ) Compensatory Day Off for Weekend Overlap: Not applicable
