National Public Holidays and Joint Leave for 2019

The Minister of Religious Affairs, Minister of Manpower and Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform have issued Joint Decree No. 617, 262 and 16 of 2018 on National Public Holidays and Joint Leave for 2019 (“ Joint Decree ”).The Joint Decree determines the dates of national public holidays as well as periods of joint public leave for the year 2019, and these dates are applicable to both employees and employers of private and government institutions, as well as to the general public.Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-AdhaThe exact dates of the Muslim holidays of Ramadan,Eid-al-FitrandEid al-Adhafor 2019 are to be determined through an official decree which is to be issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. ^[1] Vital ServicesInstitutions which provide vital services to the general public are required to make the necessary adjustments to their employee work schedules in order to accommodate national public holidays and periods of joint leave. These institutions include hospitals, public medical centers, telecommunications providers, providers of electricity and water, fire departments, police and security institutions, banks, the transportation sector and relevant institutions which provide similar services. ^[2] Joint Leave to Be Deducted from Annual LeaveJoint leave may be deducted from employees’ annual leave entitlements, as regulated under the prevailing laws and regulations, or as otherwise set out by the respective government institutions or private business entities. In other words, the heads or managements of private institutions or government offices are at liberty to deduct joint-leave days from their employees’ annual leave entitlements. ^[3] National Public Holidays and Joint Leave: 2019 DatesThe exact dates and days of national public holidays and joint leave for the 2019 period are ass outlined in the following two tables: [4]