Employees in the public sector in the United Arab Emirates will observe a holiday on May 25, 2014, Humaid Al Qatami, Minister of Education, Chairman of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources, announced in a statement.
On occasion of Isra Wal Miraj, which marks the Prophet’s journey to Jerusalem and then to heaven and officially falls on May 26, workers at the ministries and all government institutions will observe a holiday on Sunday, May 25. According to the official circular, issued today, the federal law allows the public holiday to be moved to the beginning or the end of the week, if it falls during the working week. So, employees in the UAE public sector will be able to enjoy a three-day weekend and resume work on Monday, May 26.
Isra Wal Miraj is one of the most significant holidays in the Islamic calendar and is marked by a non-working public holiday in the UAE. This year, there are several other occasions that are observed with holidays for the public sector, according to the official information, issued at the end of 2013. Eid Al Fitr is expected to start on Monday, July 28, but again, for the public sector, the holiday will probably start a day earlier. Another longer holiday is expected in October, when Arafat Day falls on Friday, October 3 and is followed by the three-day Eid Al Adha, which will bring workers three or four days off, depending on whether they are employed in the private or public sector.
Here are the official public holidays for 2014:
- May 26, Monday – Isra Wal Miraj
- June 28, Saturday – Beginning of Ramadan
- July 28, Monday till Wednesday – Eid Al Fitr
- October 3, Friday – Arafat (Haj) Day
- October 4 Saturday till Monday – Eid Al Adha
- October 25, Saturday – Hijri New Year’s Day
- December 2, Tuesday and Wednesday – UAE National Day
