Whether you are scheduling work projects, planning leave for your workforce, or simply looking forward to a long weekend, public holidays play an important role for employers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Back in April 2024, the UAE issued a Cabinet Decision (Cabinet Decision No. 27/2024 on Official Holidays in the State), which came into force on January 1, 2025 and sets out the applicable public holidays in the UAE.
Shifting Sands of Labor Law
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Ramadan is anticipated to start on February 19, 2026, subject to the sighting of the new crescent moon. It is the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar and a period of fasting, worship, and spiritual development.
Our latest Navigating Employment Law in the Middle East webinar turned the spotlight back on the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and the essential legal obligations employers need to understand when operating there.
A recent judgment of the Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Claims Court provides a timely reminder to employers operating in the UAE of the importance of having clear disciplinary policies in place and adhering to them carefully prior to terminating an employee’s employment.
Our latest Navigating Employment Law in the Middle East webinar—Part 1 of the UAE edition—kicked off the fourth installment of this multipart series. The session focused on the UAE private sector employment framework—excluding the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)—and explored what employers need to know about the law, Emiratization, employment contracts, onboarding, and Golden Visa considerations.
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) published a Practice Direction on October 9, 2025, which will have a significant impact on employment disputes in the DIFC with immediate effect. The Practice Direction noted a desire to enhance access to justice in employment-related disputes and to create a proportionate, fair, and efficient procedural framework within the DIFC courts.
Our multipart webinar series Navigating Employment Law in the Middle East recently kicked off with a session looking at the applicable employment regulations and immigration processes within the Abu Dhabi Global Market for new employees. In this blog post, find some of the key takeaways from this webinar and be sure to join us for our future webinars.
The Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation has ruled that an employer must compensate a former employee for 13 years of unused annual leave, departing from the two-year limit typically applied by lower courts.