Ramadan timings: Do non-Muslim employees also get reduced working hours?

Ramadan timings: Do non-Muslim employees also get reduced working hours?

Dubai: With the start of Ramadan, companies in the UAE are required to reduce work timings for employees by two hours every day. But what happens if a company only applies the reduced work timings for Muslim employees? A Gulf News reader wrote in with the query. He said: "My company is based in Dubai and we have been told that only Muslim employees will be getting two hours' reduced work timings, while non-Muslim employees should continue working the regular hours. Is this fair? If not, what can we do to request for reduced working hours?" Gulf News raised the query with legal experts, who spoke about the article in the UAE Labour Law, which mentions the legal provision. According to Dr Hassan Elhais, legal consultant at Dubai- based Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal consultants, who said that as per Article 65 of the Federal Law No. 8/1980 (also referred to as the UAE Labour Law), the regular working hours shall be reduced by two hours during the month of Ramadan. "The text of the law does not specify that such reduction in the usual working hours shall only be limited to Muslim employees. So, the working day shall be