Some small businesses in the UAE have already committed to changing their working week to align with the announcement that federal government departments will switch to a Saturday-Sunday weekend.
In the New Year, public sector workers at the ministerial level will work Monday to Thursday, and a half-day on Fridays.
With schools in the UAE also shifting their schedule and adopting a Saturday-Sunday weekend, small business owners said it made sense to make the change at their companies.
Small businesses with international clients will greatly benefit from the move to a more traditional working week
Claire Donnelly,
a HR consultant
Claire Donnelly, a senior consultant at Mike Hoff HR and Consulting, said she could only see the upside for small businesses.
“They are so much more flexible and can adapt and change a lot easier than large corporates,” she said.
“Small businesses can make a change like this overnight, they just need to look at what their customer base is doing.
“If their customer base isn’t changing then they need to stick to the old schedule, but if they are, then they need to modify their services by operating on different days.
“I doubt they will follow the four and a half-day week, but small businesses with international clients will greatly benefit from the move to a more traditional working week.”
This latest move comes as the UAE looks to tee up their business operations with global markets and attract more international companies into the region.
Nitin Agarwal, of technology firm Hundred, said the company had decided to follow suit and will change the working week in the New Year.
He said the move by the Dubai Government would "boost productivity for businesses that have multi-geography operations".
“As we are a tech company and have our tech providers across different locations, this move will be a great happiness booster for our employees.
"It will improve overall productivity as our teams are in different countries and co-ordination on Fridays and Sundays used to be an issue.
“As a company, we will be able to achieve one extra productive day on issues requiring multi-country team co-ordination.”
With 25 employees in its UAE office, Mr Agarwal said shifting the weekend schedule would be an easy change and it would be more convenient for employees with children whose school hours will switch to Monday-Friday.
Ananda Shakespeare, founder of Shakespeare Communications in Dubai, said her company will be working revised hours and days from January.
“We'll be trialling a working week of Monday to Friday, as our international clients often request meetings on Fridays," she said.
“As an agency working with global clients, it will be easier to liaise with the US, for example, and we will trial Friday afternoons to accommodate our European clients too.”
As a boutique agency, Ms Shakespeare said the change was easy to implement as staff numbers were small and it would better suit their international employees based in the UK and Canada too.
Shraddha Barot Amariei, chief inspiration officer at White Label Media, a media agency in Dubai, said a long weekend was welcome as it would give employees more personal time.
"I think my team’s productivity will increase as I am a big fan of the four-day work week as they will have more personal time," said Ms Amariei, who is among the agency's 25 employees based in Dubai office.
"Logistically, we will implement Fridays work-from-home as it will be a waste of time for them to travel all the way to work and sit in traffic for just four hours, which will be a welcome change for us all.
"However, I am mindful that as a media company, my colleagues, peers and everyone involved in the business operations will be under a lot of pressure to meet deadlines in a shorter span of time, but I hope the half-day gives everyone more time to decompress."
Financially, she said it was a great move by the UAE as payments from international companies would arrive on time, whereas before, the disparity in weekend days would sometimes delay payment.
What has changed?
The UAE’s weekend, which since 2006 has fallen on Friday and Saturday, will switch to Saturday and Sunday from the new year, aligning it with much of the rest of the world.
Federal employees will work from Monday to Thursday, with a half-day on Fridays.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi governments said their employees would adopt the same hours. But private sector companies are not obliged to follow suit.
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
QUARTER-FINAL
Wales 20-19 France
Wales: T: Wainwright, Moriarty. Cons: Biggar (2) Pens: Biggar 2
France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)
Kandahar%20
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RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m, Winner SS Lamea, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer).
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m, Winner AF Makerah, Sean Kirrane, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m, Winner Maaly Al Reef, Brett Doyle, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 1,600m, Winner AF Momtaz, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m, Winner Morjanah Al Reef, Brett Doyle, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,200m, Winner Mudarrab, Jim Crowley, Erwan Charpy
Avatar%3A%20The%20Way%20of%20Water
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((Disclaimer))
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THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
Four stars
