Answer: Employees in the United Arab Emirates are entitled to one or more breaks during working hours, if necessary. These breaks cannot be shorter than one hour in total.

Labor law in the UAE

Additionally, a worker is not permitted to work five (5) hours straight in a single day without taking a break. This complies with Article 18 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relations (the "Employment Law"), which says that an employee cannot work more than five (5) hours straight without taking one or more breaks that add up to at least one hour, as long as those breaks are not counted toward working hours. Shifts or specific categories based on their nature (e.g., on-site employment) and the manpower categorization outlined in the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law will govern working hours and breaks in the establishment.

Number of working hours per day

Furthermore, an employee in the United Arab Emirates should not work more than eight hours a day or forty-eight hours a week. “The maximum normal working hours for employees shall be (8) eight hours per day or (48) forty-eight hours per week,” according to Article 17(1) of the Employment Law.

Additionally, employment by force may result if an employer requests that an employee work more than eight hours without paying overtime.

This is in line with the Employment Law's Article 14(1), which reads, "An employer may not use any means susceptible of obliging or forcing the employee, or threatening him with any penalty, to work for him, or forcing him to do a work or deliver a service against his will."

According to the aforementioned legal regulations, an employee is only permitted to work five hours straight without taking a break, and they are also allowed to take one hour of break time each working day.

Furthermore, it would be against the terms of the Employment Law for your firm to require its workers to work more than 48 hours a week without paying overtime.

To ensure that it doesn't negatively impact your productivity, you can let your boss know that you are only expected to work eight hours a day or forty-eight hours a week, and that you can take one hour of breaks in between. This should be split into two or three breaks. You might think about submitting an employment complaint to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization if your employer doesn't agree with you.

The UAE announces permissible rest during working hours

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