Ramadan 2026: Oman announces reduced working hours for public and private sectors
Employees may begin work as early as 7am and continue until 3pm
Oman will introduce reduced working hours across both the public and private sectors during the holy month of Ramadan 1447 AH, in a move aimed at easing daily schedules while maintaining service delivery and business continuity.
The decision, issued by the Ministry of Labour, sets official working hours for civil service administrative units at five consecutive hours per day, running from 9am to 2pm throughout the month.
Under a flexible attendance system, heads of administrative units have been granted discretion to organise staff schedules according to operational requirements, provided total working hours do not exceed the approved daily limit.
Employees may begin work as early as 7am and continue until 3pm, with hours calculated from the time of arrival until departure, in line with internal workplace procedures.
In the private sector, employers have been instructed to reduce working hours for Muslim employees to six hours per day, with a weekly cap of 30 hours during Ramadan.
The regulations apply to all private sector establishments, while allowing employers to structure work schedules in a manner that supports business needs, in accordance with labour laws and applicable regulations.
