Kuwait announces four-hour workdays for Ramadan, introduces grace periods for employees

Dubai: In preparation for the upcoming Ramadan season, Kuwait has announced a reduction in working hours to four for employees, with additional provisions for grace periods.

As part of the agreement reached, women will enjoy two grace periods of 15 minutes each — one at the beginning and another at the end of the workday, allowing them flexibility in their schedules.

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Men, on the other hand, will work for four hours and 15 minutes, with a single grace period of 15 minutes in the morning.

The decision follows the completion of the review of employees' performance evaluations for the year 2023 by the Financial and Administrative Affairs Sector in the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Salah Khaled Al Saqabi, Assistant Undersecretary for Financial and Administrative Affairs, confirmed that deserving employees will receive an excellent job performance bonus during Ramadan, which has been factored into the budget for fiscal year 2023/2024.

Most ministries, public institutions, and government agencies have finalized their performance evaluation reports, emphasizing the importance of completing these reviews before the new budget year begins on April 1.

Each government agency will have the autonomy to determine suitable work hours and shifts, with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) approving the designated working hours. Additionally, a grace period of 15 minutes in the morning will be retained for all employees, allowing punctual workers to leave work 15 minutes earlier. The agreement also stipulates a maximum of two hours and a minimum of one hour for permissible partial absences during Ramadan.