What is the Working Hours as per New UAE Labour Law?

The new labour law – Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the regulation of labour relations – has updated the regulations for the private sector in the UAE for the working hours and Consecutive working hours.

The new UAE Labour Law – Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 – has come into effect from February 2, 2022, replacing the current Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 and its amendments

As per the Article 17 of the New Labour Law on working hours:

1. The maximum normal working hours for workers shall be (8) eight hours per day or (48) forty-eight hours per week.
2. The Cabinet may, based on the Minister’s proposal and in coordination with the concerned authorities, increase or reduce the daily working hours for some economic sectors or some categories of workers, as well as the working hours, break and hours during which it is prohibited to work for certain categories of workers, according to the workers’ classification specified in the Implementing Regulation hereof.
3. The periods spent by the worker during the commute between his place of residence and the workplace, shall not be counted in the working hours, except for some categories of workers in accordance with the rules defined in the Implementing Regulation hereof.
4. The Implementing Regulation hereof specifies the working hours in Ramadan.
5. If the worker works based on a pattern other than the full- time pattern, the original employer, or any other employer for which the worker works in accordance with the provisions hereof, may not ask the worker to work for it more than the hours agreed upon in the employment contract, except with the written consent of the worker.
6. If the worker wishes to perform his work remotely, whether inside or outside the State, with the approval of the employer, the latter may require specific working hours.

As per the Article 18 of the New Labour Law on Consecutive working hours:

The worker may not work for more than (5) five consecutive hours without a break or breaks of not less than an hour in total, provided that these periods are not included in the working hours. Working hours and breaks shall be arranged at an establishment working according to shifts or for some job categories, as per their nature, such as field jobs, and according to the workers’ classification specified in the Implementing Regulation hereof.