If you only ever work with people in one country, “the weekend” needs no explanation. As soon as you deal with suppliers, colleagues or clients abroad, it becomes a real planning question. Not everyone takes Saturday and Sunday off, and a deadline of “five working days” can mean a different date depending on whose working week you use.
This guide covers the main weekend patterns, a notable recent change in the United Arab Emirates, and practical ways to handle cross-border deadlines.
Saturday and Sunday
The Saturday–Sunday weekend is the most common pattern. It is standard across most of Europe, the Americas, much of Asia and Oceania, and many countries in Africa. Spreadsheet functions such as NETWORKDAYS assume it by default.
Even in these countries, not everyone works Monday to Friday. Retail, hospitality, healthcare, transport and many other sectors work weekends, often on shift patterns. “Saturday–Sunday” describes the typical office and government week, not every job.
Friday and Saturday
Several countries in the Middle East use a Friday–Saturday weekend, with the working week running from Sunday to Thursday. Examples include:
- Saudi Arabia
- Qatar: the official weekend is Friday–Saturday; some private businesses may differ.
- Kuwait: the official weekend is Friday–Saturday; some private businesses may differ.
- Bahrain: the official weekend is Friday–Saturday; some private businesses may differ.
- Oman
Saudi Arabia and Oman both moved to Friday–Saturday in 2013, having previously used a Thursday–Friday weekend. Bahrain and Qatar had made the same switch earlier in the 2000s, and Kuwait’s government did so in 2007. These are the official or government weekends; private employers in some of these countries set their own rest days.
In Israel, the usual working week runs from Sunday to Thursday, and the weekend is centred on the Sabbath, which runs from Friday evening to Saturday evening. Many businesses work a shorter day on Friday rather than closing, so Friday is not always a full day off.
Working patterns can change, and individual employers may differ, so check current official sources if a date really matters.
The UAE’s switch to Saturday–Sunday
The United Arab Emirates used a Friday–Saturday weekend until the end of 2021. In December 2021 the government announced that, from 1 January 2022, the federal government would move to a four-and-a-half-day week with a Saturday–Sunday weekend, working a half day on Friday.
A few points are worth knowing:
- The change applied to federal government entities, and the individual emirates’ governments announced their own arrangements. Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah adopted a similar week.
- Sharjah chose a different approach for its government: a four-day working week, Monday to Thursday, with a Friday–Sunday weekend.
- Private companies set their own working weeks within the UAE’s labour law, so a private firm’s weekend may differ from the government’s.
So when you work with a UAE organisation, it is reasonable to expect a Saturday–Sunday weekend, but it is still worth asking, especially for Sharjah government bodies or private firms.
Sunday only
In some countries and industries, a six-day working week with only Sunday off is normal, for example in parts of manufacturing, retail and some small businesses. Some employers also work alternate Saturdays.
This is usually a matter of employer practice rather than national law, so you cannot tell it from the country alone. If a supplier tells you they work Monday to Saturday, count their working days that way.
Other patterns
Other arrangements exist, including single weekend days other than Sunday, rotating shift rosters, and four-day weeks used by some employers. Because these vary so much, the safest approach is to ask the people involved what days they work, rather than relying on a country-level summary.
How weekends affect international deadlines
Different weekends shrink the overlap between working weeks. A team with a Saturday–Sunday weekend and a team with a Friday–Saturday weekend share only four common working days: Monday to Thursday.
That has practical effects:
- Requests sent on a Friday may not be seen until Sunday in one country or Monday in another.
- “Five working days” can produce different end dates depending on which weekend you apply.
- Public holidays stack on top: each country has its own list, and some holidays move each year.
Worked example
You send a request on Thursday 5 November 2026 and the contract says the reply is due within three working days, not counting the day of sending.
- Saturday–Sunday weekend: Friday 6 (day 1), Monday 9 (day 2), Tuesday 10 (day 3). Due Tuesday 10 November.
- Friday–Saturday weekend: Sunday 8 (day 1), Monday 9 (day 2), Tuesday 10 (day 3). Also due Tuesday 10 November.
The dates match here, but the working days used are different. Now change the request to two working days, sent on Wednesday 4 November:
- Saturday–Sunday weekend: Thursday 5 (day 1), Friday 6 (day 2). Due Friday 6 November.
- Friday–Saturday weekend: Thursday 5 (day 1), Sunday 8 (day 2). Due Sunday 8 November.
These examples assume no public holidays. A holiday in either country would move its date further.
Practical tips
- Agree whose calendar applies. Contracts can state which country’s working days and holidays are used.
- Write dates, not durations. “Reply by Tuesday 10 November” is clearer than “within three working days”.
- Share holiday calendars with partners at the start of a project.
- Check official sources for each country’s public holidays, and confirm working patterns with the organisation itself.
If you need to test a few scenarios, the working days calculator lets you choose weekend patterns such as Saturday–Sunday, Friday–Saturday or Sunday only (or tick any combination of days), and apply public holidays for 41 countries. The weekend is set separately from the country and starts as Saturday–Sunday everywhere, so change it when you need a Friday–Saturday week. Its country list includes Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates but not Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait or Oman; for those, choose “No public holidays” and add the official holidays as custom days off.