Four things to know about working hours and entitlement for overtime
Need to stay back at work for a few extra hours? Be aware of your rights
If you are working as a full-time employee in the UAE’s private sector, it is important to understand what the maximum working hours are in the UAE and what your rights are when it comes to working overtime and being paid for it.
Articles 17, 18 and 19 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, the UAE’s Labour Law, stipulate how working hours are calculated and what is the maximum amount of time a worker can work before they are entitled to a break.
1. Regular working hours are 8 hours per day, 48 hours per week
In a post on its official social media accounts on January 20, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), specified four important aspects related to working hours in the UAE’s private sector. Firstly, regular working hours are eight hours per day or 48 hours per week.
Also, commuting time from and to the workplace is excluded from working hours, except for some cases and within controls specified in the implementing regulations.
Thirdly, if you are not working on a full-time pattern, your working hours will be specified in the employment contract. MOHRE also said that working hours should not exceed five consecutive hours without a minimum one-hour break.
2. The commute time can be counted as part of your working hours in these exceptional cases
Article 15 of Cabinet Resolution No. (1) of 2022, highlights some exceptional circumstances when the commute may be considered three circumstances when the commute is included within working hours.
This includes situations when the National Centre of Meteorology may have announced weather changes and fluctuations. In such bad weather, if the worker is delayed during the commute, it will be counted as part of working hours. Similarly, any delay from the worker’s end, in transit, in employer-provided transportation in the event of a traffic accident or an emergency breakdown will also be counted within working hours. The only other time this can happen is if both the employer and employee expressly agree in the contract that the commute will be part of working hours.
3. Overtime should not be more than two hours in one day
According to Article 19 of the UAE’s Labour Law, an employer can ask an employee to work overtime, provided that the number of extra hours does not exceed two hours in one day. It could increase to 50 per cent if the overtime work is done between 10pm and 4am. This rule does not apply to workers who work on basis of shifts.
4. You may not always be entitled to overtime pay
If your occupation or position in the company falls under certain categories that are listed out as exceptions in the UAE Labour Law, you may not be eligible for overtime pay.
Such exceptions are set out under Clause (4) of Article 15 in Cabinet Resolution No. (1) of 2022.
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