"New UAE labour law: What can employees do if they're overworked?" 28 Jan 2022

Though the new workweek has been adopted across the UAE's public sector, some private sector employees have reported working overtime, as employers are yet to determine their days off...

The new labour law, which comes into effect on February 2, gives the private sector the flexibility to determine the employees’ weekends, as long as they have at least one day off per week. This is subject to increase as per the company’s discretion.

An employee at an auto market in Dubai... [said] the company’s employees ended up working with no days off as the employer is yet to determine the new weekend.

“Before the new workweek, we had Fridays off. Now, we do not have it off any more.”

The employee reported hesitance to make a complaint to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre) out of fear of losing their job...

Another employee at a restaurant near the Gold Souq in Dubai reported working from 9am to 10pm every day, including Friday, which was previously a day off.

“We are waiting for the company to adjust, but we are unclear when.” The employee is entitled to one day off as per the signed contract.