It looks like there’s a long weekend on the horizon…

Great news: we have a public holiday that means a day off work in two weeks’ time!

That’s right, Isra’a Wal Miraaj will fall in late April, and the UAE government has just announced that it will fall on Sunday April 23 for public sector employees, and Saturday April 22 for private sector employees…

But don’t worry, if you’re in the private sector and normally have Friday and Saturday off, you’ll get Sunday April 23 as a day off. If your only off day is Friday, you’ll now get Saturday off but will have to return to work on Sunday. So, basically, there’s an extra day off for everyone…

It was originally forecast that the public holiday would fall on Monday April 24 this year, but the federal law states that public holidays in the UAE can be moved to the beginning or end of the week if they fall between two working days.

So, yes, that means a three-day weekend for anyone who has Friday and Saturday off. 

The holiday marks the night that Mohammed (peace be upon him) travelled from Makkah to Jerusalem and then ascended to heaven.

Want to know what other public holidays you can expect in 2017? Here’s the full list...

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