Riyadh, (Business News Report)|| The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been considering reducing working days to four days a week, similar to the UAE.
The Saudi Minister of Human Resources, Ahmed Al-Rajhi, said that Saudi Arabia is considering reducing working days, “in a move aimed at making the Kingdom more attractive to investment and employees.”
“The government is considering reducing the weekly working days to four days in exchange for three days off,” Al-Rajhi said. He added that what matters to the kingdom is the number of hours and days of work.
“We want the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be attractive to investors and the job market, and we are keen to create new jobs for citizens,” he added.
Currently, the Kingdom applies a system of five working days and two days off per week, which are Friday and Saturday.
The UAE was the first Gulf country to implement the 4-day work week system. It began implementing it last January, while Bahrain is studying the application of the same system.
At the end of last year, the UAE Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Abdul Rahman Al Awar, said that the stock exchange’s working days will be adjusted according to the same system.
The UAE has two financial markets: one in the capital, Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange); and the other in Dubai (Dubai Financial Market).
In a related context, Al Awar said that the new amendment contributes to eliminating the gap between the UAE stock market and global markets, and will enhance the country’s competitiveness in terms of attracting talent and human competencies.
The UAE government also issued a new system for the weekly working days in the government sector, to be four and a half days per week, and the holiday will be on Saturday and Sunday, provided that work on Friday is half a day, and ends at 12 noon.
Al-Awar clarified in his press interview that the new work system is in the interest of the private sector, and the financial markets in particular, especially in terms of keeping pace with the weekly working days followed globally, i.e. from Monday to Friday.
