If you run payroll or HR in the UAE, the 2027 holiday calendar is something you will want to lock in early. It has two fixed public holidays confirmed by law and five Islamic holidays that move with the moon. Those five are only confirmed a day or two ahead, once the crescent is sighted. On this page we list every date, flag which are fixed and which are provisional, and explain what each one means for payroll and attendance planning across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the rest of the UAE.
The same national calendar applies to everyone. Public holidays in the UAE cover public and private sector employees alike under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 and Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024. Employers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the other emirates all follow it, so there is no emirate-by-emirate variation for you to plan around.
2027 Calendar
UAE Public Holidays 2027
Fixed and provisional dates for every emirate, with HR and payroll notes.
United Arab Emirates · Dubai · Abu Dhabi · Sharjah · all emirates
| Date (2027) | Day | Holiday | Days | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | New Year’s Day | 1 | Fixed | |
| (poss. to 12) | Tue–Thu | Eid Al Fitr | 3–4 | Provisional |
| Sat–Tue | Arafah Day + Eid Al Adha | 4 | Provisional | |
| Sunday | Hijri New Year | 1 | Provisional | |
| Saturday | Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday | 1 | Provisional | |
| Thu–Fri | UAE National Day | 2 | Fixed |
Holiday months at a glance
Fixed dates are confirmed by Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024. Provisional dates depend on moon sighting and are usually announced 1–2 days ahead.
January
March
May
June
August
December
Provisional Islamic dates update after official UAE moon-sighting confirmation.
Quick answer: how many public holidays does the UAE have in 2027?
The UAE observes 7 public holiday occasions in 2027. Once you count the multi-day Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha breaks, that adds up to roughly 13 to 14 individual days off. Two of the seven are fixed: New Year’s Day and UAE National Day. The other five follow the Hijri lunar calendar, so they stay provisional until the UAE Cabinet confirms them closer to the date.
Provisional means the date is a well-informed forecast, not an official confirmation. Islamic holiday dates depend on the sighting of the crescent moon. UAE moon-sighting committees announce them, usually only 1 to 2 days ahead. New Year’s Day and National Day are different. They are set by the Gregorian calendar and Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024, and they will not change.
One rule catches people out. Under Article 3 of Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024, a holiday cannot be shifted to another day if it lands on a weekend or overlaps another public holiday. So a few of these dates may not give you an extra day off, even when the Cabinet issues a transfer decision for others.
Fixed holidays
New Year’s Day, 1 January 2027
New Year’s Day falls on a Friday in 2027. That already sits inside the UAE Saturday to Sunday weekend, so most of your team gets a three-day weekend from Friday 1 to Sunday 3 January, with no Cabinet transfer needed. The first working day of the year is Monday, 4 January. For payroll, that makes the December run your last of the year, and January opens on the 4th.
UAE National Day, 2-3 December 2027
UAE National Day (Eid Al Etihad) marks the 56th anniversary of the union of the seven emirates in 2027. It falls Thursday to Friday, which joins the weekend for a four-day break from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 December. If you run shift sites, this is one to roster early. Full detail: UAE National Day 2027 dates and what employers need to know.
Islamic holidays (provisional, pending moon sighting)
Eid Al Fitr, expected 9-11 March 2027
Eid Al Fitr marks the end of Ramadan. Ramadan 2027 is expected to start around 8 February, and Eid Al Fitr falls on the first day of Shawwal. If the Ramadan moon is sighted on schedule, the holiday runs three days. If Ramadan runs the full 30 days, a fourth day is added. Plan for both outcomes so your rosters and payroll dates do not slip. Full detail: Eid Al Fitr 2027 UAE: dates and holiday planning.
Arafah Day and Eid Al Adha, expected 15-18 May 2027
Arafah Day (9 Dhu al-Hijjah) comes first, followed immediately by the three days of Eid Al Adha (10 to 12 Dhu al-Hijjah). Together they give a four-day holiday window. This is the longest guaranteed break of the year for most teams, so coverage planning matters most here. Full detail: Eid Al Adha 2027 UAE: dates and holiday planning.
Hijri New Year, expected 6 June 2027
The Hijri New Year is a single-day holiday. It marks the first day of Muharram, the start of the Islamic calendar year. The date stays provisional until the moon is sighted. Full detail: Islamic New Year 2027 UAE: date and HR guidance.
Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday, expected 14 August 2027
Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday (Mawlid) is observed on 12 Rabi’ al-Awwal. It is a single-day public holiday, and like the others here it is subject to the same moon-sighting confirmation process.
Does this apply to the private sector too?
Yes. UAE public holidays apply equally to public and private sector employees. Once the Cabinet announces or confirms a date, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) circulates official confirmation for the private sector. Most employers then align payroll and attendance systems to that same MOHRE-confirmed calendar. If you need staff to work on a public holiday, UAE labour law entitles them to a compensatory day off, or their normal pay for the day plus at least 50% extra pay for the hours worked. This is set out in Article 28 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021.
What UAE public holidays 2027 means for HR and payroll teams
Public holidays touch three areas that we see HR and payroll teams in the UAE plan around every year:
- Attendance and shift rosters. Multi-day breaks like Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha need coverage plans booked in advance. This matters most for construction, retail, hospitality and manufacturing sites. Those teams run on shift patterns, not a standard office week, so a gap is harder to backfill.
- Payroll cut-offs. UAE bank holidays generally track public holidays. So a payroll run due around Eid or National Day usually has to move earlier to avoid delays. Your WPS (Wage Protection System) submissions face the same bank-holiday constraint, so plan the cut-off backwards from the holiday.
- Leave planning and overtime. Staff who work through a public holiday are owed compensatory time or extra pay in AED, at least 50% above the basic daily rate for the hours worked. For example, an employee on an AED 6,000 monthly basic salary (about AED 200 a day) who works UAE National Day earns that day’s normal AED 200 plus at least AED 300 extra (50% of the daily rate), or a compensatory day off instead. You need to track that accurately against attendance records, not estimate it after the fact.
A biometric attendance system that flags public holidays automatically, and reconciles them against the leave calendar, removes the manual cross-checking that usually lands the week before Eid. You can see how we handle this on Tipsoi’s UAE attendance and workforce pages. For site-based teams, look at the construction workforce solution.
Frequently asked questions
When is the next public holiday in the UAE after this page was published?
As of September 2026, the next confirmed public holiday is UAE National Day, 2 to 3 December 2026, fixed under Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024. After that, the next confirmed date is New Year’s Day, 1 January 2027. Islamic holidays for the remainder of 2026 and for 2027 are confirmed closer to each date on the official UAE government portal.
Are UAE public holiday dates for 2027 official yet?
Only New Year’s Day (1 January) and UAE National Day (2-3 December) are fixed and certain for 2027. The five Islamic dates on this page are informed forecasts based on astronomical calculation. They are not official until UAE moon-sighting committees confirm them, typically 1 to 2 days before each holiday.
Can UAE public holidays be moved to create a long weekend?
Yes, for most holidays. The UAE Cabinet can transfer a holiday to the start or end of a working week to extend a break. This does not apply to Eid Al Fitr or Eid Al Adha, whose dates are fixed by the Islamic calendar. And no holiday can be transferred onto a day that already coincides with another public holiday or a weekend.
Do UAE public holidays apply to free zone employees?
Yes. Free zone employees are covered by the same UAE public holiday calendar as mainland public and private sector staff. Some free zone authorities also issue their own circulars confirming the dates.
How many days off will UAE employees get in total in 2027?
Based on the provisional calendar above, you can expect roughly 13 to 14 official holiday days across the year. That is before any Cabinet-issued long-weekend transfers.
Sources
- UAE Government Portal (u.ae): Public holidays: official holiday types and Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024 reference. rel=nofollow, live-checked 2026-08-17.
- Khaleej Times: UAE holidays 2027 forecast: published 11 August 2026, provisional date calculations. rel=nofollow, live-checked 2026-08-17.
- greytHR: UAE Holidays 2026 wiki page: structure reference only, not a date source for 2027. rel=nofollow.
This page will be updated once the UAE Cabinet issues official confirmation for each 2027 Islamic holiday date.