The UAE has announced the New Year holiday for 2026 for the private sector. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) announced that Thursday, January 1, 2026, will be an official paid holiday for all employees in the private sector across the United Arab Emirates. This announcement follows the release of the approved list of official holidays by the UAE Cabinet for both the public and private sectors. Since New Year's Day in 2026 falls on a Thursday, it is expected that private sector workplaces will resume operations on Friday, January 2, 2026. Meanwhile, the 'Federal Authority for Human Resources' also announced that New Year's Day 2026 will be a holiday for the federal public sector. According to this announcement, the public sector holiday will be on Thursday, January 1, 2026, and Friday, January 2, 2026, has been designated as a Remote Work day for federal government employees, except for jobs that require the physical presence of employees. Source: Gulf News