Do reduced Ramadan working hours apply to private sector staff in the UAE?

Yes — reduced Ramadan hours apply to the private sector, not just government. Under the federal Labour Law, normal daily working hours are reduced by two during Ramadan, and the federal rule applies to employees generally rather than only to those who are fasting. An office simply staying silent does not switch the entitlement off. One nuance: a few free zones run their own employment laws — the DIFC, for example, ties the reduction to employees observing the fast — so it is worth checking which regime your employer falls under. If you are under the mainland Labour Law or a free zone that follows it, the two-hour reduction is yours, and the company cannot demand the missing hours back later or dock pay for them. The practical route: raise it with HR in writing before Ramadan begins, framed as a question rather than an accusation — most non-compliance here is oversight rather than defiance. If the company refuses outright, that is a working-hours violation you can take to MOHRE. A licensed UAE employment lawyer can confirm how the rule applies to your specific contract and zone if HR pushes back.