The weekend days in Dubai is Friday. Majority of the shops, banks and other market will off on Friday. Thus working days in Dubai is from Saturday to Thursday. Dubai’s business hours can take any newcomer by surprise. There are some very special and unique business hours norms that have to be followed and expected when you are in the city.
Normal working days in Dubai
In Dubai working hours vary according to business. The general trend is to work from Sunday to Thursday while many businesses are open on Sundays too, closing only on Fridays. Therefore if you are going on a trip to Dubai and planning to go out in local market on Friday then you will notice that majority of the shops will remain close.
Business hours are generally from 8 A.M to 1 P.M, allowing the temperature to go down in the afternoon. Then the business starts at 4 P.M again and continues till 7 P.M in the evening. It is only during Ramadan that the working hours become shorter. Some of the businesses have free zones and working hours that are different.
The time of peak traffic is anything during the work hours and even beyond that. In some parts of the town, the traffic may extend on to the late hours of the night. Accidents and jams occur regularly. Parking may take a toll on some buildings and therefore you must count upon the time you have to have at hand when you leave for some job.
Working in Dubai can be very informal and relaxed. They have plenty of paperwork like bank documentation, approvals by the government and applications that require time.
Dubai Bank Working Days
In Dubai there are plenty of banks. These banks are regional, international and local banks. All of them are well run and regulated as well as well financed.
The businesses in Dubai are usually open from 7 A.M to 1 P.M and between 3 P.M to 6 P.M. The banks are open from eight to three from Saturday to Wednesday and on Thursdays from 8 A.M to noon. Like all other businesses in Dubai, the banks are also closed on Fridays.
The companies that deal in money transfers and especially foreign exchange work late in the evenings. These are generally located in main thoroughfares for shopping and also at the various shopping malls. Bank facilities are available 24/7 at the important international airports. Of course the banks in Dubai observe the public holidays which generally confirm to the holiday periods that are set up and established by the private sector and the government organizations. Dubai’s biggest bank is the Emirates NBD which was established in 2007 with the merging of the National Bank of Dubai and Dubai’s Emirates Bank International. The other important banks that follow the mentioned schedules are the First Gulf Bank and the Dubai Islamic Bank.
Banking in Dubai has now become highly automated like all other banks in the world, thus saving a lot up on the precious time of the customers. Banks also offer drive-in services for quick operative services. For the remote areas the bank also offers mobile banking services. Industrial complexes that are huge often have a bank on site for the facility of workers, for a save up on their time. Same is the case with the training centers for police as well as the organizations for civil service.