Hotel rosters change fast. One week you close the restaurant at midnight. The next week you open breakfast at six. When Ramadan arrives, or when December bookings surge, the roster changes again. Through all of that, the law still sets a floor. There are hours your employer cannot exceed, breaks you must get, and leave you earn no matter how busy the property is. This page from HR Career Specialist sets out those floors in plain terms, as of July 2026.

Quick reference

Normal hours: 8 per day or 48 per week at most.
Ramadan: normal hours drop by 2 per day.
Breaks: no more than 5 hours in a row without breaks totalling at least 1 hour.
Weekly rest: at least 1 paid day off per week.
Overtime: capped at 2 extra hours per day, with premium pay.
Annual leave: 30 days a year after 12 months of service.
Sick leave: up to 90 days a year, paid in tiers.
Maternity leave: 60 days. Parental leave: 5 working days each parent.
Public holidays: 13 paid days a year.

These are federal minimums under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022. Your contract can give you more, never less.

Hours and breaks

Working hours. The standard limit is 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week. The law and executive regulation allow different arrangements for specified sectors, shift systems and senior roles, so a roster can require closer review than the headline limit suggests. Travel to work normally does not count as working time, subject to limited exceptions.

Rest breaks. You cannot be made to work more than 5 hours in a row. After that, you must get one or more breaks adding up to at least 1 hour. Breaks do not count as paid working time. Shift-based jobs can arrange breaks differently under the executive regulation, but the break itself is not optional.

Weekly rest day. You get at least 1 paid rest day each week. Your contract or company policy fixes which day. If the business needs you on that day, you must receive either a substitute day off or your normal wage plus at least 50 per cent of your basic wage. You cannot be made to work on your rest day more than two weeks in a row.

Ramadan working hours. Normal working hours reduce by 2 hours a day during Ramadan. The federal rule applies to all workers, not only those who fast. Rosters in hospitality often shift towards iftar and suhoor service in this month, but the daily reduction still applies to your normal hours.

Overtime. Overtime is work beyond your normal hours and is generally capped at 2 extra hours a day. Overtime attracts a premium: at least 25 per cent on top of the applicable basic-wage rate, rising to at least 50 per cent for overtime between 10pm and 4am. The night uplift does not apply to shift workers. The full rates and worked examples are on our pay and benefits page.

Paid leave basics

Annual leave. After one full year of service you earn 30 days of paid annual leave each year. Between 6 and 12 months of service, you earn 2 days for each month worked. Public holidays or other agreed days off that fall inside your annual leave count as part of it, unless your contract says otherwise. Your employer can set leave dates around business needs, in agreement with you, and must tell you at least one month ahead. The law expects you to take leave in the year you earn it, and an employer cannot stop you taking it for more than two years.

Carrying leave forward. With your employer’s agreement you can carry unused leave into the next year. The executive regulation caps this at half of your annual entitlement. You can also agree to be paid cash for the unused days instead, worked out on your basic wage. Payment for leave still unused when you finally leave a job is covered on our end of service page.

Leave during probation. Probation can last up to six months. During it, sick leave is unpaid only, and even that needs a medical certificate from a recognised body. Paid annual leave under the law starts building once you pass six months of service, so many workers take their first paid holiday after probation ends. Bereavement and parental leave carry no service condition in the law, so they apply from day one. Your employer can always agree better terms.

Sick leave. After probation, you can take up to 90 days of sick leave per year, in one block or spread out. Pay comes in tiers: the first 15 days at full pay, the next 30 at half pay, and the last 45 unpaid. Tell your employer within three days of falling ill and provide a medical report. The law limits termination because of illness before the worker uses the statutory sick-leave entitlement. Paid sick leave can be lost where the illness resulted from specified misconduct or a deliberate breach of safety rules.

Public holidays. The UAE Cabinet sets the official paid public holidays, and Islamic dates depend on the approved calendar and moon sighting. Hospitality rarely closes for holidays, so the compensation rule matters: if you work an official holiday, you must receive a substitute rest day or the applicable holiday-work payment under the Labour Law.

Family leave

Maternity leave. A female worker gets 60 days of maternity leave: 45 days at full pay, then 15 days at half pay. She can start it up to 30 days before the due date. If illness from the pregnancy or birth stops her working, she can take up to 45 more days unpaid, together or split. If the baby is born sick or with a disability and needs constant care, she gets 30 more days at full pay, extendable by another 30 days unpaid. After returning, she gets paid nursing breaks of up to one hour a day for six months from the birth. Dismissing a worker because of pregnancy or maternity leave is unlawful.

Parental leave. Both the mother and the father get 5 paid working days to care for their new baby. The days can be taken any time from the birth until the child is six months old.

Bereavement leave. Paid leave of 5 days applies when a spouse dies. It is 3 days for the death of a parent, child, sibling, grandchild or grandparent. The leave runs from the date of death.

Special situations

Study leave. If you have worked for your employer for at least two years and you are enrolled at an accredited UAE educational institution, you get 10 paid working days a year to sit exams.

Unpaid leave. You can agree unpaid leave with your employer on top of your other entitlements. The time away does not count towards your length of service.

Part-time work. Under a part-time contract you work fewer hours or days than a full-time colleague, for one employer or several. Annual leave is worked out from your actual contracted hours, with a floor of 5 days a year.

Part-time work permit. This MOHRE permit lets a business employ someone, from inside or outside the UAE, on a part-time contract. The worker can then take on more than one employer, but only after getting the Ministry’s approval first.

Flexible work arrangements. The law recognises flexible contracts where your hours or days change with the employer’s needs, alongside remote work and job sharing, where agreed tasks are split between workers under part-time rules. Whatever the pattern, it must be written into your contract. What the hours clause in your contract must cover is explained on our employment contracts page.

DIFC and ADGM. Hotels and restaurants inside these two financial free zones follow their own employment laws, not the federal law. The headline numbers differ: both cap the week at an average of 48 hours, but annual leave is 20 working days, sick leave is 60 working days in tiers, DIFC maternity leave is 65 working days, and ADGM reduces Ramadan hours by 25 per cent for Muslim employees. Check which law names your employer before relying on any figure.

The summer midday work ban and related heat-safety rules are covered on our compliance page.

Two roster examples

A restaurant server normally works 8-hour shifts, five days plus a short sixth day. In December the manager asks her to stay 2 extra hours after three dinner services. That is lawful overtime, capped at 2 hours a day, and each extra hour must be paid with at least a 25 per cent uplift on her normal wage.

A housekeeping attendant joins in January with a six-month probation. In August, after eight months, he asks for a week off. He has passed six months, so he has earned 2 leave days per month from month seven onwards, plus whatever his employer agreed above the legal floor. After his first full year, his entitlement becomes 30 days.

Common misunderstandings

“Split shifts mean no break.” Wrong. However the shift is cut, you cannot work more than 5 straight hours without breaks totalling an hour.
“Busy season suspends leave.” No. The employer can schedule your dates with one month’s notice, but cannot block leave for more than two years.
“Ramadan hours only apply to fasting staff.” The federal 2-hour reduction applies to all workers.
“Working Eid is just part of the job.” It is, but it must be paid: a substitute day off or your day’s wage plus at least 50 per cent of basic wage.
“Unused leave disappears.” It does not. You can carry up to half forward by agreement, cash it in at basic wage, or be paid for it when you leave.

What to check in your documents

Your contract’s hours clause: the daily and weekly hours, your work pattern (full-time, part-time, flexible), and your weekly rest day.
The company leave policy: how to request annual leave, carry-over rules, and any terms better than the legal minimum.
Your roster and time records: consecutive hours worked, breaks, and any hours beyond eight a day, since those drive overtime pay.
Your payslips after holidays or rest-day work: look for the 50 per cent uplift or a substitute day on the roster.

Related terms

Tools and further reading

Source note: Figures on this page were checked on 11 July 2026 against the UAE Government portal (u.ae), Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 on uaelegislation.gov.ae, and official DIFC and ADGM texts. Rules can change, so confirm current wording with MOHRE or your free zone authority.

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