World

UAE announces public holiday on January 1, 2021

All public and private sector employees will get a day off to mark the New Year, says human resources ministry

By Web Desk
December 30, 2020
A view of Burj Al Arab. Photo: AFP

ABU DHABI, UAE: The first day of the New Year, January 1, 2021, will be a public holiday in the United Arab Emirates, the government has announced.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation on Tuesday announced that all public and private sector employees will get a day off to mark the New Year.

However, with January 1 falling on a Friday — which is already a weekly holiday in the UAE — most workers will not get an additional day off.

The country's human resources minister, Nasser Bin Thani Al Hamli, announced that it would be a paid holiday for all private-sector establishments, on the occasion of New Year, as per the decision of the UAE Cabinet on official holidays for 2021.