UAE public holidays 2020: government and private sector employees given five-day weekend for National Day

Holidays will start Tuesday, December 1 and run until Thursday, December 3

Federal government employees and private sector workers across the UAE have been granted a five-day weekend to celebrate National Day and Commemoration Day.

Holidays will start Tuesday, December 1 until Thursday, December 3, the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources and Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation said.

Work will resume for most on Sunday, December 6. Those who work Saturdays will resume work on December 5.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation announces a three-day paid holiday for all private sector establishments, institutions, and entities, from December 1 until December 3, on the occasions of UAE Commemoration Day and the 49th UAE National Day. #MOHRE #UAE pic.twitter.com/QWJye9sFGB

— MOHRE_UAE وزارة الموارد البشرية والتوطين (@MOHRE_UAE) November 22, 2020

Commemoration Day is held in memory of Emiratis who died in the line of duty.

The public holiday, previously known as Martyrs' Day, was initially observed on November 30 but was formally changed last year.

November 30 was chosen as the initial date, when the holiday was first declared in 2015, in honour of the first Emirati killed serving the UAE.

Salem bin Khamis Al Dahmani, a policeman, died on the Tunb Islands when Iran invaded them just before the UAE's federation in 1971.

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Immediately after Commemoration Day, the public will have another two days off for National Day, beginning on December 2.

This is the 49th year since the unification of the emirates.

The end of National Day celebrations see out the rest of the year, with the next holiday scheduled for January 1 to mark New Year.