Job Discussion Forums

[rdobbs98]

Does UAE give Oct 14th thru the 17th off for Eid? I will be in a private school and they only have the 15th with a star by it saying dependent upon the MOHE determination for the holiday.

If so it would be nice for a little trip.

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/united-arab-emirates/

[Eisenhorn]

Like with many things in the gulf, it depends.

Usually, Eid is 3 days off. Key word.. Usually. It is all based on when the moon is sighted. If it is cloudy, the day shifts. It has happened in the past that some Eids have shifted 2 or 3 days because the moon isn't able to be sighted.

What that really means is that it is very difficult to plan and purchase tickets to travel anywhere over Eid. We often don't find out the 'official' days of Eid until the day before.

But some private employeers may only give one day off. You need to check with your HR.

[veiledsentiments]

Actually, once Ramadhan is officially ended, the Eid al-Adha is set and doesn't depend on a view of the moon. I may be off a bit, but I think it is 70 days after...

What is unpredictable for this Eid is the number of days you have off and that depends on your employer. If you are employed by a government institution, your dates will be set by a decree... at the very last minute... and you could get anywhere from just a couple to over a week. (usually 3-4) Private employers will tend to give the absolute minimum number of days.

So, you know what day it starts, but the mystery of how many days you will have off will be decided by your employer. Planning Eid travels will be a constant aggravation... enough that after my first contract, I stopped even trying to plan any trips during these holidays.

VS

[dragonpiwo]

And the air tickets at these times can be extortionate.

[Gulezar]

We should know when the actual holiday starts at the beginning of the Islamic month, "Dhu al-Hijjah". Some employers will give students a full week holiday, but not inform instructors of a decision until the last minute. It's just one more way for them to jerk your chain.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/government/eid-al-adha-holidays-in-uae-could-be-from-october-14-1.1223919#
Eid Al Adha holidays in UAE could be from October 14

Private sector to get three days while public sector will get six days

Published: 17:20 August 25, 2013

Dubai: Private sector in the UAE is scheduled to get Eid Al Adha holidays from October 14 (Monday) to 16 (Wednesday), while the public sector will be given a six-day holiday, according to an Arabic daily in the UAE.
According to Dubai’s Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities, October 14 (Day of Arafat) is scheduled to be the first day of Eid Al Adha holiday, the daily reported.

[rdobbs98]

Thanks for the update everyone.

[rdobbs98]

I am at a private school, so will they make the school open the Sunday 13th and Thursday the 17th? Would be smarter to just take the week off seeing many students probably take the additional days off anyway.