UAE 2026 holiday dates with announcement scope, corrections to August and weekend rules, and conditional December leave plans separating public holidays from annual leave.
I’d get the leave approved before buying the flight. National Day on 2–3 December is the remaining entry on the standard UAE public-holiday calendar for 2026, but a calendar is not your employer’s final arrangement. Keep the holiday dates, your normal days off and requested annual leave separate. That is how a promising long weekend becomes a plan you can actually use.
My planning verdict: approval first, booking second
The one-day and three-day leave examples below show the arithmetic without inventing extra public holidays. I’d use the example that fits my roster, then check the applicable announcement and booking conditions. Commemoration Day is not an automatic extra day off, and a school break does not settle an employee’s entitlement.
For the journey itself, read rain-related driving restrictions; for a shorter destination option, compare an Ajman short-break plan.
Checked on 19 October 2026. This update replaces the old guide’s estimated August date, blanket weekend-compensation claim and assumption that private-sector Eid breaks are always shorter. Earlier 2026 holidays are retained below as an archive, not described as upcoming. The linked authority sources take precedence over a planning example.
UAE public holidays 2026: dates and announcement scope
| Holiday | 2026 date or period | Status and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Gregorian New Year | Thursday, 1 January | Fixed date in Cabinet calendar; passed |
| Eid Al Fitr | Thursday–Sunday, 19–22 March | FAHR federal circular; MoHRE’s conditional fourth day applied after Ramadan completed 30 days; passed |
| Arafat Day and Eid Al Adha | Tuesday–Friday, 26–29 May; federal entities 25–29 May | Distinguish the reported MoHRE private-sector announcement from FAHR’s longer federal period; passed |
| Hijri New Year | Monday, 15 June | MoHRE’s official private-sector post confirms this observed holiday, rather than an earlier calendar estimate; passed |
| Prophet Mohammad’s Birthday | Friday, 28 August | FAHR circular confirms federal observance; UAE Government Media Office announcement reported federal and private sectors; passed |
| National Day / Eid Al Etihad | Wednesday–Thursday, 2–3 December | Dates in the standing Cabinet calendar; check final sector/employer arrangements |
Commemoration Day, 30 November: an official national observance, not a separate automatic day off in the reviewed Cabinet list. Do not add it to your leave entitlement solely because a calendar labels the occasion. Likewise, a school closure, a bank’s opening hours or a government office’s remote-work instruction is not automatically a nationwide employee holiday.
Fixed dates, Hijri dates and observed days are not interchangeable
Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024 sets the holiday framework for the public and private sectors. Its list uses Gregorian dates for New Year and National Day, and Hijri dates for religious occasions. The UAE government portal summarises that framework.
For a future Hijri occasion, a predicted Gregorian date is not the same as an announced employee holiday. For an occasion that has already passed, replace the prediction with the actual announcement. Keep the scope visible: FAHR speaks for federal ministries and entities; local-government directions can have their own coverage; MoHRE announces the private-sector period under its remit.
The reviewed Cabinet text permits a Cabinet decision moving a non-Eid holiday to the beginning or end of the week. It separately says a holiday cannot be transferred merely because it coincides with another holiday or falls on the weekend. That is not a standing promise of a compensatory Monday.
What the 2026 announcements actually established
Eid Al Fitr: why the private-sector break reached four days
FAHR Circular No. 2 of 2026 specified 19–22 March for federal entities, with work resuming on 23 March. MoHRE’s announcement carried by WAM initially specified 19–21 March, extending to 22 March if Ramadan completed 30 days. The Presidential Court’s 18 March confirmation established that 19 March completed Ramadan and 20 March was the first day of Eid. Read together, those sources support 19–22 March for that private-sector holiday, not a claim that employers merely chose to copy a longer federal break.
Arafat Day and Eid Al Adha: different periods in May
FAHR’s federal announcement ran from Monday 25 May to Friday 29 May, with work resuming on Monday 1 June. The 18 May report quoting MoHRE’s announcement gives Tuesday 26 May to Friday 29 May for private-sector employees. The latter was also visible in an embedded MoHRE post during this review; the linked news report is the accessible announcement record used here.
For someone normally off on Saturdays and Sundays, the federal period could connect 23–31 May into nine calendar days, while 26–31 May could form six for a private-sector employee. Neither calculation turns the intervening weekend into extra declared public holidays, and neither establishes a shift worker’s roster.
Hijri New Year: use the observed Monday, not the earlier estimate
MoHRE’s official announcement specified Monday 15 June 2026 as the paid private-sector holiday, with work resuming on Tuesday 16 June. Abu Dhabi Mobility’s dated service notice likewise identifies the holiday as 15 June. Do not use an old astronomical estimate as the observed work-holiday date.
Prophet Mohammad’s Birthday: observed on Friday, 28 August
FAHR Circular No. 11, issued 7 August 2026, confirms Friday 28 August for federal entities. Sharjah24’s report of the UAE Government Media Office announcement records the same date for federal government and private-sector staff. The earlier 25 August entry was a forecast, not the final observed holiday. Dubai Government’s separate announcement reported by WAM also specified 28 August and explained that public-service and shift arrangements required entity-level scheduling.
December leave planning: useful arithmetic, not a new declaration
The standing Cabinet calendar lists National Day on 2–3 December. This review did not establish a final 2026 sector-specific transfer notice. Do not copy a previous year’s moved dates into 2026 or treat a school calendar as the employment circular.
| Illustrative plan | Annual leave to request | Possible continuous break |
|---|---|---|
| Keep the request short | Friday, 4 December: 1 day | 2–6 December: 5 calendar days |
| Join both weekends | 30 November, 1 December and 4 December: 3 days | 28 November–6 December: 9 calendar days |
Both examples assume your observed holidays remain 2–3 December, Saturday–Sunday are your usual days off and the requested leave is approved. If any assumption changes, recalculate. The dates outside the public holiday are weekends or requested annual leave, not guaranteed government-granted days.
Before paying for travel, check the applicable circular, your roster and written leave approval, then the booking’s amendment and cancellation terms. A possible long weekend is not a reason to buy a non-refundable ticket on an unconfirmed assumption.
My roster check: the same holiday makes different breaks
I would mark my normal working days before copying a long-weekend headline. Assuming the observed public holidays remain 2–3 December, these are different calendar calculations—not three different national announcements:
| Illustrative usual days off | Without additional leave | What makes five continuous days? |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday–Sunday | 2–3 December; Friday 4 December interrupts the break | Approved annual leave on Friday 4 December joins 2–6 December |
| Friday–Saturday | 2–5 December: four continuous days | Approved annual leave on Sunday 6 December joins 2–6 December |
| Friday–Sunday | 2–6 December: five continuous days | No extra leave in this example, if all three are genuinely usual days off |
This is why I would send HR the exact dates and my roster, not a request for “the five-day holiday”. A shift pattern or changed observance needs a fresh calculation; the table does not decide entitlement, leave deductions or holiday-work compensation.
Which announcement should you follow?
| Your situation | Start with | Do not substitute |
|---|---|---|
| Federal employee | FAHR circular and your entity’s instructions | A private employer’s closure notice |
| Local-government employee | Your emirate’s HR authority and entity | An assumption that every federal arrangement applies |
| Private-sector employee | MoHRE’s relevant announcement and your applicable employment framework | A federal-only extension or a school break |
| Shift or public-service role | Your actual roster and applicable holiday-work rules | A standard Monday–Friday office planner |
| Parent planning childcare | The school’s approved calendar as well as your employer’s dates | An assumption that school and work holidays always coincide |
Questions about being required to work on a holiday, pay or a substitute rest day need the relevant employment rules and your circumstances. That is a different issue from automatically moving a national holiday because it overlaps a weekend. Ask HR or the competent authority rather than treating this calendar as an individual legal opinion.
FAQs: UAE public holidays
What UAE public holiday dates remain on the standard 2026 calendar?
The Cabinet calendar lists National Day on 2–3 December, which falls on Wednesday–Thursday in 2026. Check the relevant final employer or authority announcement for any transfer or additional arrangements before booking non-refundable travel.
Is 30 November automatically a UAE public holiday?
No separate day off for 30 November appears in the reviewed Cabinet holiday list. Commemoration Day is an official national observance, but an event or remembrance date is not by itself an employee holiday entitlement.
Was the Prophet’s Birthday holiday on 25 or 28 August 2026?
The observed date confirmed in FAHR’s 2026 circular was Friday, 28 August. The old 25 August entry was an estimate and should not be used instead of the announced observance.
Do public holidays automatically move if they fall on a weekend?
No. Cabinet Resolution 27 of 2024 does not create an automatic substitute day when a holiday coincides with another holiday or the weekend. It separately allows Cabinet decisions transferring non-Eid holidays to the beginning or end of the week.
Do federal government and private-sector holiday periods always match?
The Cabinet holiday framework covers both, but specific announcements and additional arrangements can differ. In May 2026, FAHR announced 25–29 May for federal entities, while the reported MoHRE private-sector announcement covered 26–29 May. Check the announcement that governs your employment.
Can one day of annual leave make a five-day December break?
Conditionally: if 2–3 December remain your observed holidays, you normally have Saturday–Sunday off and Friday 4 December is approved as annual leave, the break runs 2–6 December. That is five calendar days using one leave day, not five newly declared public holidays.
Sources and review scope
The two FAHR circular PDFs linked above were read in full and visually checked. The review also checked the cited WAM statements, official MoHRE New Year post, FAHR May announcement and the named announcement reports. Cabinet holiday and transfer provisions were checked through indexed official text; direct access to the legislative download was blocked. No employer approval, live flight booking, personal entitlement determination or continuous announcement monitoring was performed. Original author, publication date and media files are preserved.
