Quick answer: Eid Al Etihad, the UAE National Day holiday, is set for Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 December 2026 in the UAE’s official holiday calendar, and private-sector employees get both days off on full pay. The Cabinet can still move the holiday to the start or end of the week, as it did in 2025, so watch for the official announcement closer to the date. Staff who work on the holiday must get another day off, or the day’s wage plus at least 50% of their basic wage, under Article 28 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.
The leave requests start landing in early November.
A site engineer in Al Quoz wants the whole week off to fly home. Two people in accounts want the Friday. The operations manager wants to know who will run the warehouse on the 2nd. And somewhere in finance, someone has just noticed that November salaries fall due on 1 December, one day before the holiday.
Eid Al Etihad is a celebration. For HR and payroll teams it is also a short, busy week where leave, rosters and salaries all collide. This guide gives you the dates, the pay rules and a simple checklist, so the holiday stays a celebration and not a scramble.
Eid Al Etihad marks 2 December 1971, the day the United Arab Emirates was formed. The UAE’s official holiday calendar, set by Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024, lists the holiday on 2 and 3 December. In 2026 those dates fall on a Wednesday and a Thursday.
There is one catch. The same framework lets the Cabinet move certain public holidays to the start or end of the week, so people get a cleaner break. That is exactly what happened in 2025, when the holiday moved from Tuesday and Wednesday to Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 December.
So treat 2 and 3 December 2026 as the working assumption, not the final word. The official confirmation for both the public and private sectors comes closer to the date. We will update this guide as soon as it does.
Yes. The federal holiday calendar covers government and private-sector employees alike, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) applies the same dates to private companies. In 2025, when the dates moved, the private sector moved with them.
Public holidays are paid. Under Article 28 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, workers are entitled to official holidays with full pay. That sits on top of the weekly rest day, not in place of it.
In practice, that means two things for your HR system. Both days should be marked as paid public holidays, and nobody’s annual leave balance should drop because of them.
Some businesses cannot close. Hotels, hospitals, security, logistics and retail often need people on the busiest days of the year. If you roster staff on 2 or 3 December, Article 28 gives you two options for each holiday worked:
A quick example. An employee on a basic salary of AED 6,000 a month has a daily basic of AED 200, using the common 30-day method. If you choose the pay option, the premium for working the holiday is at least AED 100, on top of the day’s wage.
Decide which option you will use before the roster goes out, and put it in writing. Then make sure payroll reflects it. An employee who is not compensated can take the matter to MOHRE.
Two midweek holidays are a gift for leave planning. Assuming a Saturday and Sunday weekend and the 2 and 3 December dates, here is the maths.
| Leave days used | Which days | Time off in a row |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Friday 4 December | 5 days, Wednesday 2 to Sunday 6 December |
| 2 | Monday 30 November and Tuesday 1 December | 6 days, Saturday 28 November to Thursday 3 December |
| 3 | Monday 30 November, Tuesday 1 December and Friday 4 December | 9 days, Saturday 28 November to Sunday 6 December |
If the Cabinet moves the holiday, or your company works a different weekend, the numbers change. Rework them once the dates are confirmed.
For managers, the time to plan is now. These requests arrive early and all at once. Approve them in order, keep a cover plan for each team, and do not leave it to the last week of November.
Since 1 June 2026, Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 makes every private-sector salary due on the 1st of the following month. November salaries are therefore due on Tuesday 1 December 2026. MOHRE warnings can start from the second day.
Now look at the calendar. If the holiday stays on 2 and 3 December, the long break begins the day after the deadline. If it moves to the start of the week, as it did in 2025, the due date itself could land on a public holiday.
Do not wait to find out. Run November payroll and submit the WPS Salary Information File (SIF) a few working days early, so the money lands before the 1st, whatever the Cabinet decides. Our guide to WPS UAE 2026 and Ministerial Resolution 340 covers the full enforcement timeline.
Work through these before the end of November.
Public holidays are where small HR teams feel the strain. Leave, rosters and payroll all collide in one week.
Workplus HCM keeps them in one system. Leave requests and balances live in leave management. Rosters and shifts, on the Power plan and above, show who is covering the holiday. And Workplus HCM payroll builds the WPS SIF file from the same records, so an early November run takes minutes, not a weekend.
You can compare the plans on the Workplus HCM pricing page, or book a free demo and see it working with your own team’s data.
The official calendar lists Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 December 2026. The Cabinet can move the holiday to the start or end of the week, so confirm the final dates when they are announced.
Yes. Under Article 28 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, private-sector workers get official public holidays with full pay.
For each holiday worked, the employer must give another day off, or pay the wage for that day plus at least 50% of the employee’s basic wage.
With a Saturday and Sunday weekend, one day of leave on Friday 4 December gives five days off in a row. Three days of leave on 30 November, 1 December and 4 December give nine days, from 28 November to 6 December.
On 1 December 2026. Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026 makes salaries due on the 1st of the following month, so run November payroll early to stay clear of the holiday.
