How many hours do employees work in Ramadan?

What the article says

Article 98 sets a ceiling on actual working hours, and the employer adopts one of two standards: the daily standard, capped at eight hours a day, or the weekly standard, capped at 48 hours a week. In the month of Ramadan, actual working hours for Muslims are reduced so that they do not exceed six hours a day or 36 hours a week.

"A worker may not actually be employed for more than eight hours a day if the employer uses the daily standard, or more than forty-eight hours a week if the employer uses the weekly standard. During the month of Ramadan, actual working hours for Muslims are reduced so that they do not exceed six hours a day or thirty-six hours a week."

Labor Law, Article 98. Unofficial translation; the Arabic text published by the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers is the authoritative version.

Working hours basics in the Law

• Daily or weekly cap (Article 98): eight hours of actual work a day under the daily standard, or 48 hours a week under the weekly standard; in Ramadan, six hours or 36 hours for Muslims.
• Breaks during the day (Article 101): a worker may not work more than five consecutive hours without a break for rest, prayer and meals of at least half an hour at a time, and may not stay at the workplace for more than twelve hours a day.
• Weekly rest day (Article 104): Friday is the weekly rest day for all workers. After notifying the competent labor office, the employer may replace it with another day for some workers, and must let them perform their religious duties. The rest day is on full pay, lasts at least 24 consecutive hours, and may not be replaced with a cash payment.
• Overtime (Article 107): overtime hours are paid at the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage. The overtime pay page explains the details.

Who the Ramadan reduction applies to

The text says "for Muslims" in so many words, so the Ramadan reduction in Article 98 applies to Muslim workers covered by the Labor Law, meaning those who work under an employment contract for the benefit of an employer, under the employer's management or supervision, for a wage (Article 5). The general cap of eight hours a day or 48 hours a week applies to workers covered by the Law, with exceptions the Law itself sets out below.

This explainer covers the private sector under the Labor Law. The article does not apply to the groups excluded by Article 7, which include domestic workers, agricultural workers and private shepherds. If your job falls under the civil service or a military system, this page does not cover it, so please check the rules that govern your position.

Exceptions to the Article 98 limits

The Law itself sets exceptions to these limits, so it is not safe to assume they apply to every job without checking them:

• Groups the article does not cover (Article 108): Articles 98 and 101 do not apply to people in high positions of responsibility in management and direction, if those positions give them the employer's powers over the workers; to preparatory or complementary work that must be done before work starts or after it ends; to work that is necessarily intermittent; or to workers assigned to guarding and cleaning, except civil security guards. The Regulation specifies this work and its maximum hours. Because the exception covers Article 98 as a whole, on the plain wording the Ramadan reduction in it does not extend to these groups.
• Raising or lowering the daily limit (Article 99): working hours may be increased to nine hours a day for some categories of workers, or in some industries and work in which the worker does not work continuously, and reduced to seven hours a day for some categories, or in hazardous or harmful industries and work. The Minister sets these categories and types of work by decision.
• Rotation work (Article 100): in establishments where the nature of the work requires rotation, the employer may, with the Ministry's approval, go above eight hours a day or 48 hours a week, provided the average over three weeks or less does not exceed eight hours a day or 48 hours a week.
• Specific cases (Article 106): the employer may set aside Articles 98 and 101 and paragraph 1 of Article 104 in listed cases, including annual stocktaking, preparing the budget and preparing for seasons (on no more than thirty days a year), preventing a dangerous accident, meeting an unusual work pressure, and Eids, seasons and seasonal work set by the Minister's decision. In these cases actual working hours may not exceed ten hours a day or 60 hours a week.

A general example with hypothetical numbers

• An establishment on the daily standard: its working day is eight hours of actual work, so the ceiling for its Muslim employees in Ramadan is six hours a day.
• An establishment on the weekly standard: its cap is 48 hours a week, so the ceiling for its Muslim employees in Ramadan is 36 hours a week.

Hypothetical examples for illustration only. They do not describe any real establishment.

When does Ramadan 1448H start?

Ramadan 1448H is expected to begin around 8 February 2027 on the Umm al-Qura calendar, subject to the official moon-sighting announcement. This is an estimate for planning only.

Common misconceptions

• "The Ramadan reduction applies to everyone." The text refers to Muslims; the general cap still applies to others.
• "Fewer hours means a lower salary." Article 98 reduces actual working hours and says nothing about reducing the wage.
• "Eight hours means eight hours at the workplace." The Article 98 cap is on actual working hours. Article 101 sets a separate limit on time spent at the workplace: twelve hours a day. Rest, prayer and meal periods are not counted as actual working hours (Article 102).
• "The weekly rest day can be paid out in cash." Article 104 says the weekly rest day may not be replaced with a cash payment.

Related articles

• Article 101: rest breaks and the maximum time at the workplace.
• Article 102: rest, prayer and meal periods are not counted as actual working hours, and the employer may not require the worker to stay at the workplace during them.
• Article 104: the weekly rest day.
• Articles 99, 100, 106 and 108: exceptions to the working-hours limits, explained above.
• Article 107: overtime pay, on its own page.
• Article 154: nursing breaks after maternity leave count as actual working hours; see the maternity leave page.

Official source

Articles 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 104, 106 and 108 are published in the Labor Law on the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers website (Arabic). Text reviewed on 28 September 2026.