Qatar confirms working hours during Ramadan 2025; Check work hours for private sector employees
Qatar is the latest to update the reduced working hours for the public sector during the holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin on March 1, 2025, upon the sighting of the moon.
The Cabinet of Qatar, upon the recommendations of the Civil Service and Government Development Bureau, has confirmed the reduced working hours for government employees. According to the guidelines, employees in government departments, establishments, and institutions will work from 9 AM to 2 PM.
The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers has also provided flexibility for employees to start work as late as 10 AM, provided they complete five hours and fulfill work requirements.
In addition, the Cabinet has allowed remote work for up to 30 percent of the total workforce. To avail of remote work, priority must be given to Qatari mothers and individuals with disabilities while ensuring that operational needs are met.
Following the same guidelines, the Ministry of Public Health will set specific working hours and schedules tailored to operational requirements during Ramadan 2025.
The official work hours for Ramadan 2025 for private sector employees in Qatar are not announced separately, as they are included in the labour law regulations. During Ramadan each year, the working hours for private sector employees are reduced to six hours per day, totaling 36 hours per week.
As specified in Article 73 of Qatar's Labour Law, Law No. 14 of 2004: "The maximum ordinary working hours shall be forty-eight hours per week, at the rate of eight hours per day throughout all months of the year, except for the month of Ramadan, when the maximum working hours shall be thirty-six hours per week at the rate of six hours per day."
Besides the holy month of Ramadan, the official working hours for private sector employees are 48 hours per week and 9–10 hours per day, with two days off, usually Friday and Saturday. In some sectors, a shift-based system is followed, with a one-hour break after five continuous hours of work.
As stated in the labour law regulation: "One or more intervals for prayer, rest, and the taking of meals shall not be less than one hour and not more than three hours." These breaks are not included "in the calculation of the working hours or taken into consideration in specifying intervals or intervals of rest, and the worker shall not work for more than five consecutive hours."
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The relaxed and reduced working hours shall be implemented from the day the holy month is expected to begin, most likely after the sighting of the moon on February 28, 2025.