Who follows Ramadan timings?

Who follows Ramadan timings?

We all know that the UAE government issues a law to reduce work timings during Ramadan but how many follow it?

July 17, 2012 2:30 by M. Aldalou

Year after year, the government in the United Arab Emirates issues a circular dictating the work timings during the month of Ramadan. The circular is typically divided into enforceable working hours for public sector employees and dictated working hours for employees hired in the private sector.

According to the Ministry of Labour and Interior, year after year, employers continue to neglect this ruling. But do these figures really show the underbelly of the ‘rebellious’ community? A survey is all fine and dandy but Kipp knows how challenging it would be to find the root cause of the disobedience of the work timing regime.

Perhaps the most objectively logical guess would bring us to a fork road – a category of employers who take the risk to force their employees to work normal work timings and employees who are stranded between the desire to leave the office early and the desire to impress their superiors.

The Ministry of Labour said that they have received numerous complaints last year from private sector employees revealing that their bosses weren’t allowing them to enjoy the benefit of the reduced work hours; nor were they paying them for overtime.

Officially, the working hours of private sector companies in the UAE will be reduced from eight to six hours per day during Ramadan. As for the public sector they will be reduced to 9-2. There’s not much chance of governmental sectors violating the law so Kipp reckons there is no worry in that department.

Employers who are caught violating the rules will face hefty fines, according to government officials. But there’s a thick line between violation and being caught. As I am sure we all know individuals who are either forced to continue with normal timings or are put under immense guilt to not ask for overtime.

Personally, I have always had a positive experience in this topic but it is clear that thousands of workers and employees in the UAE are not as fortunate.

If you have personal experience with this then it is imperative that you share your thoughts because justice starts one word at a time.