UAE workers to get up to five days off for Eid Al Adha

Private sector workers in the UAE could receive up to five days off for the Eid Al Adha holiday, with many expected to travel abroad.

Based on the presumed date of Arafat Day as September 10, workers in the country are expected to receive at least two days of national holiday following the weekend beginning Friday, September 9.

Some have speculated that private sector workers may even receive three days of holiday, with a long weekend potentially lasting until Tuesday, September 13 and work resuming the next day.

Last year, private sector workers in the country received three days of national holiday for Eid Al Adha, from Wednesday, September 23 to Friday, September 25.

For workers with a regular two-day weekend this meant four full days off.

Read: UAE public and private sector Eid Al Adha holidays announced

Public sector workers are expected to receive the usual four days of national holiday to mark the occasion, meaning a six-day weekend from September 9 to September 14.

Moon sighting committees in the UAE and Saudi Arabia will meet on September 1 to announce the Haj and Eid dates.

Saudi newspaper Al Ittihad reports that Sharjah Planetarium has forecast that the Hilal crescent will appear on September 1, making Sunday, September 11 the first day of Eid Al Adha.