Because this year’s National Day falls on Wednesday, Dec. 18, many residents have been waiting and hoping to see if their employers will grant them Thursday off as well.
UPDATE | Tuesday, Dec. 17
The Emiri Diwan has declared the day after National Day this year to also be a holiday for the public sector, QNA reports. That means “all ministries, other government bodies, authorities and public institutions” will be off on Dec. 19.
Banks will also be closed on Wednesday and Thursday, and should reopen on Saturday, Dec. 21.
UPDATE | 4:43pm
Several government, semi-private and educational institutions have announced that Thursday will be a day off, including Qatar Foundation, College of the North Atlantic Qatar, the Qatar Museums Authority, Qatar University and Aspire.
However, no official announcements have been made by the government or Qatar Central Bank yet, so it seems like Dec. 19 is still a workday for many residents.
So far, Qatar has not seen an official announcement about an extra long weekend, but some government employees said they have been notified that they will also have Thursday off.
The move would not be without precedent. Though Qatar’s Labor Law stipulates that employees only need to be given one day off for National Day, the Human Resource Management Law allows for a bit more flexibility, stating:
“If one working day separates two official holidays such a working day shall be considered a holiday.”
Because Thursday falls between National Day and the weekend, this is being interpreted by many to mean that Dec. 19 should be a holiday for the public sector.
That law, however, only applies to staff in government organizations and companies.
Meanwhile, only a handful of private firms appear to have given employees a day off, though many people who spoke to Doha News said they expect to receive notification of their company’s decision at some point today.
Here’s some of the Twitter reaction so far:
@dohanews Thank u for asking!! Everyone here at Hamad is waiting to hear!!
— MikeyL (@canuckinarabia) December 16, 2013
@dohanews Yeah, my employer QG has already announced THU as OFF to celebrate National Day #MyQatar
@dohanews the source i have says, its off for GOV on 19th as well. QCB will go with Gov. Can,t say about private.
— MOHSIN.MOHAMMAD (@MohsinAltaf) December 16, 2013
— Javaid Abid (@Javaid_Abid) December 16, 2013
@dohanews several shipping companies + goverment sectors off on thursday
— جمال اليافعي (@jqassim_qatar) December 16, 2013
Do you have the day off on Thursday? Thoughts?
For more on National Day, please see our 2013 guide, which we will be updating regularly.
