Working weeks and public holidays across export markets
Short answer
Not every buyer works Monday to Friday: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Israel generally work Sunday to Thursday, while the UAE federal government works Monday to a half-day Friday. Islamic holidays move 10 to 12 days earlier each year and are confirmed by moon sighting. Lunar New Year closures in China and Vietnam run well past the official days. Check official calendars before promising dates.
A quote that lands on a buyer's weekend, a shipment promised across a factory shutdown, or a balance payment due on a bank holiday can each cost you a week. This guide lists facts you can plan around, each from an official source or an official calendar, and tells you where to check the rest. It doesn't try to describe "how people work" in a country; it sticks to calendars.
Rules below describe the official or government working week. Private companies can set their own hours, and some open on part of the weekend. When it matters, ask the buyer: "Which days is your office open?"
Markets that don't work Monday to Friday
| Market | Working week | Weekend |
|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates (federal government) | Monday–Thursday, plus Friday until midday (since 1 January 2022) | Saturday–Sunday |
| Sharjah (UAE, emirate government) | Monday–Thursday | Friday–Sunday |
| Saudi Arabia | Sunday–Thursday | Friday–Saturday |
| Kuwait | Sunday–Thursday | Friday–Saturday |
| Qatar, Oman, Bahrain | Sunday–Thursday | Friday–Saturday in practice (some businesses open part of Saturday) |
| Israel | Sunday–Thursday for most businesses and government offices | Friday–Saturday; limited service on Friday |
| Iran | Saturday–Thursday, with Thursday widely a short or non-working day | Friday |
Iran's parliament has voted on changing the weekend more than once since 2024; as of late 2026 the change still needed final approval. Check before relying on it. In Israel, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange moved to a Monday–Friday trading week in January 2026, but most offices still work Sunday to Thursday.
What this means for you: an email sent on your Friday afternoon may wait until the buyer's Sunday, or their Monday. A deadline "by Friday" to a buyer in Riyadh falls on their weekend. Write the date and the time zone, not the weekday alone; see plain English for non-native buyers.
Islamic holidays move every year
The Islamic (Hijri) calendar is lunar, so its holidays fall about 10 to 12 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar. Months begin with the sighting of the new crescent moon, so authorities confirm the exact dates only shortly before; dates can also differ by a day between countries.
| 2027 (approximate) | Expected date |
|---|---|
| Ramadan begins | About 8 February 2027 |
| Eid al-Fitr | About 9–10 March 2027 |
| Eid al-Adha | About 16–17 May 2027 |
Each country announces its official Eid holiday, which can last several days and can join a weekend. Check the official announcement for each market, and plan quotes, sample shipments and payment due dates so they don't land in that week.
Lunar New Year: China and Vietnam
Lunar New Year 2027 falls on Saturday 6 February 2027, in both China and Vietnam (Tết).
- China. Spring Festival has 4 statutory days off (New Year's Eve and the first three days of the year), since 2025. With swapped weekend days, the official 2027 break is 9 days, from 5 to 13 February, with Sunday 31 January and Sunday 14 February as make-up working days.
- Vietnam. Civil servants are off for 7 days, from 4 to 10 February 2027. Private companies set their own schedule within the rules.
The official dates are the minimum. A company's own closure can be longer, so ask your suppliers and buyers in either country for their actual closure and restart dates, agree production and shipping dates for January and February well in advance, and tell buyers early. Templates for that are in telling a buyer about a delay.
Other dates that catch exporters out
| Market | Holiday | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | Golden Week: Shōwa Day, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day, Children's Day | 29 April; 3, 4 and 5 May |
| France, Spain, Italy | Assumption Day, a public holiday in all three | 15 August (a Sunday in 2027) |
| United States | Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday in November | 25 November |
| India | Diwali (central government date; some states differ by a day) | 29 October |
| Most of Europe and the Americas | Christmas and New Year | 25 December, 1 January |
Company holiday periods, such as a summer shutdown, aren't in any official calendar. Ask each buyer when they and their decision-makers are away.
How to plan around all this
- At the start of each year, list your active buyers' countries and note their closures for the year.
- Add the holidays at your end and at your suppliers' end too.
- Set quote validity so it doesn't expire during the buyer's holiday.
- Before a long closure, send buyers a short note: when you're away, when you're back, and who to call in an emergency. Repeat that your bank details never change by email; fraudsters like a holiday. See bank detail change fraud.
- Under a letter of credit, check whether shipment, presentation or expiry dates fall near a bank holiday.
- Count shipping times in working days at both ends, and say so when you quote a delivery term.
Official calendars to check
- United States, federal holidays: OPM
- United Kingdom, bank holidays: GOV.UK
- Japan, national holidays: Cabinet Office
- UAE, public holidays: u.ae
- Singapore (includes Lunar New Year, Hari Raya and Deepavali dates): Ministry of Manpower
- France, public holidays: Service-Public.fr
- China: the State Council's annual holiday notice, usually published in November for the next year.
- India: the central government's annual holiday memorandum, plus each state's list.
How RelaySolo helps with this
RelaySolo keeps each buyer on a client page with what's open, and gives you follow-up reminders and a daily briefing of who to contact today, so a quote you've paused for someone's holiday comes back on the right day. Buyer emails arrive in the inbox translated into your language. Your client records stay on your own computer (where your data lives).
The Mac app is free to try for 30 days for your first company. Create an account on relaysolo.com to download it.
Sources
- UAE Government portal, Working hours in the public sector; Dubai Media Office, changes to the working week system (7 December 2021).
- Saudi Press Agency, Royal Order: weekly holiday on Friday and Saturday.
- U.S. International Trade Administration country commercial guides, business travel: Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Israel. Qatar: Ministry of Commerce and Industry office hours.
- Iran working week: RFE/RL (March 2025) and AFP via Dawn (May 2024). Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: Times of Israel.
- Islamic calendar: Royal Museums Greenwich; 2027 dates: Gulf News (astronomical forecasts) and Singapore Ministry of Manpower.
- China: State Council, revised national holiday rules (2024) and 2027 holiday notice (5 November 2026). Vietnam: Hà Tĩnh provincial government on the 2027 Tết break.
- Japan: Cabinet Office, national holidays. US: OPM federal holidays. France: Service-Public.fr. Spain: BOE public holiday list. India: 2027 central government holiday memorandum.
Read next
- Plain English for non-native buyers; all of Working across markets.
- Proforma invoices, in Samples, orders and documents.
- Fake inquiries and phishing, in Fraud and safety.
- Getting paid; Quoting and trade terms. How we check sources: about this handbook.