VoxxArrive · UAE onboarding topic
Working Hours & Overtime in the UAE: An Employer's Guide (2025-2026)
Under the UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), private-sector normal working time is 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week, reduced by 2 hours per day during Ramadan. Overtime is capped at 2 hours per day and must be paid at the basic wage plus at least 25% (rising to at least 50% for hours worked between 10pm and 4am, except shift workers). Every worker is entitled to at least one paid weekly rest day. Note that financial free zones DIFC and ADGM run their own separate employment laws with different rules.
Steps
- Set contractual hours within the statutory ceiling - Cap normal working time at 8 hours/day or 48 hours/week (Article 17). Certain sectors or worker categories may have different daily hours as set out in the Executive Regulations, so check whether your activity is affected before drafting contracts.
- Build in the mandatory rest break - A worker may not work more than 5 consecutive hours without one or more breaks totalling at least 1 hour. Break time is not counted as working hours (Article 18/19).
- Apply the Ramadan reduction - Reduce daily working hours by 2 hours for the whole of Ramadan (roughly a 36-hour week). This is a statutory entitlement under the UAE Labour Law and applies regardless of the worker's religion.
- Control and record overtime - Overtime must not exceed 2 hours per day, and total working hours must not exceed 144 hours in any 3-week period (Article 19). Keep accurate time records to demonstrate you are within these limits.
- Pay overtime at the correct uplift - Pay overtime at the wage for normal hours (on the basic wage) plus at least 25%. Where overtime falls between 10:00pm and 4:00am, the uplift is at least 50% - this night rule does not apply to shift workers.
- Grant the weekly rest day and compensate work on it - Give at least one paid weekly rest day (the specific day is set in the contract or work regulations, not fixed by law). If a worker works on their rest day, grant a substitute rest day OR pay basic wage plus at least 50%.
- Check whether the worker is an exempt category - The Executive Regulations exempt certain categories (e.g. some senior/management roles) from parts of the working-hours and overtime provisions (Article 20). Confirm status before relying on an exemption.
- Confirm your jurisdiction - If your entity sits in DIFC or ADGM, the Federal Labour Law does not apply - follow the DIFC Employment Law or ADGM Employment Regulations instead, which set their own working-hours and overtime rules.
Timeline
These are continuous compliance obligations, not a one-off process. The Ramadan reduction applies for the full lunar month each year; the 144-hour overtime ceiling is assessed on a rolling 3-week basis; the rest day is weekly.
Cost & fees
There is no government fee to comply with working-hours rules - the cost is the wage uplift itself (basic wage +25%, or +50% for 10pm-4am and for work on a weekly rest day) plus payroll/time-tracking administration. Non-compliance exposes the employer to MOHRE penalties and back-pay claims.
Your task slice
3 of the 57 onboarding tasks apply here.
Define working hours, overtime, and weekly rest-day terms in the contract
Brief employee on working hours, breaks, overtime, and leave policy
Confirm timekeeping/overtime configuration matches contract terms
Some figures on this page vary by jurisdiction, zone or nationality, or could not be independently confirmed from a public source at time of writing - confirm the current figure with the regulator before relying on it.
Sources
Frequently asked
How much overtime pay must we give in the UAE?
Overtime is paid at the wage for normal hours, calculated on the basic wage, plus at least 25%. If the overtime is worked between 10:00pm and 4:00am, the uplift is at least 50% instead (this night uplift does not apply to shift workers). Work on the weekly rest day is compensated with either a substitute rest day or basic wage plus at least 50%.
What is the maximum overtime an employee can work?
Overtime cannot exceed 2 hours per day, and total working hours cannot exceed 144 hours in any 3-week period, under Article 19 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.
Do working hours reduce during Ramadan?
Yes. Private-sector working hours are reduced by 2 hours per day for the whole of Ramadan. This applies to all employees, not only those observing the fast.
Is overtime calculated on gross salary or basic salary?
The uplift is calculated on the basic wage, not the total/gross package. The overtime rate is the normal-hours wage (on the basic wage) plus the 25% or 50% supplement.
Do these rules apply in DIFC and ADGM?
No. DIFC and ADGM are financial free zones with their own separate employment laws (the DIFC Employment Law and the ADGM Employment Regulations). The Federal Labour Law's working-hours and overtime provisions do not govern employers inside those two free zones.