Saudi Arabia has four official holiday occasions in 2027: Founding Day, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and National Day. This guide gives the expected dates for each, how many days off the private and public sectors get, and what happens when a holiday lands on a weekend or you're asked to work it. The two Eid dates come from the Umm al-Qura calendar and are expected, subject to official announcement.
Founding Day is Monday 22 February 2027 and National Day is Thursday 23 September 2027. By the Umm al-Qura calendar, Eid al-Fitr 1448 falls on Tuesday 9 March 2027, Arafat Day on Saturday 15 May and Eid al-Adha on Sunday 16 May 2027. Private-sector workers get 4 days for each Eid and 1 day each for Founding Day and National Day. Government employees get much longer Eid breaks, roughly 10 to 11 days each.
- Year2027 (1448 to 1449 AH)
- Occasions4 official holidays
- Private sector10 days a year
- Set byHRSD rules and Supreme Court moon sighting
Saudi public holidays 2027 at a glance
The fixed holidays never move on the Gregorian calendar. The Eids follow the Hijri calendar, so they arrive about 11 days earlier each year. In 2026, Eid al-Fitr was on 20 March. In 2027 it is expected on 9 March.
| Holiday | Date in 2027 | Hijri date | Private sector | Public sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founding Day | Mon 22 Feb | 15 Ramadan 1448 | 1 day | 1 day |
| Eid al-Fitr (expected) | Tue 9 Mar | 1 Shawwal 1448 | 4 days: Tue 9 to Fri 12 Mar | Thu 4 to Sat 13 Mar |
| Arafat Day (expected) | Sat 15 May | 9 Dhul Hijjah 1448 | First day of the Eid al-Adha break | Inside the Eid al-Adha break |
| Eid al-Adha (expected) | Sun 16 May | 10 Dhul Hijjah 1448 | 4 days: Sat 15 to Tue 18 May | Tue 11 to Fri 21 May |
| National Day | Thu 23 Sep | 22 Rabi' al-Thani 1449 | 1 day | 1 day |
Ramadan 1448 is expected to start on Monday 8 February 2027, so Founding Day falls in the middle of the fasting month. If you want to check another date yourself, our Hijri to Gregorian date converter uses the same Umm al-Qura calendar.
Key points
- The private sector's 4-day Eid al-Fitr break starts the day after 29 Ramadan in the Umm al-Qura calendar, which in 2027 is Tuesday 9 March. That holds even if the moon makes Ramadan last 30 days.
- The private sector's Eid al-Adha break starts on Arafat Day, so a change in the moon sighting would move the whole break by a day.
- Hours you work on an official holiday count as overtime under the Labor Law.
- Government employees follow a different regulation, with Eid breaks fixed by Hijri dates: 25 Ramadan to 5 Shawwal, and 5 to 15 Dhul Hijjah.
Private sector: how many days off you get
If you work for a company in Saudi Arabia, your holidays come from Article 24 of the Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law, published by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD). The ministry's 2025 awareness guide for employers and workers lists the same four occasions: 4 days for Eid al-Fitr, 4 days for Eid al-Adha, 1 day for National Day on 23 September and 1 day for Founding Day on 22 February. That adds up to 10 paid days a year, on top of your annual leave.
The two Eids are counted differently, and that trips people up. Eid al-Fitr is counted from the day after 29 Ramadan as printed in the Umm al-Qura calendar. In 2027 the calendar's 29 Ramadan is Monday 8 March, so the break should run from Tuesday 9 to Friday 12 March. In 2026 it worked the same way: HRSD said the break would begin at the end of the working day on 29 Ramadan (Wednesday 18 March) and last four days.
Eid al-Adha starts on Arafat Day itself, the 9th of Dhul Hijjah. For 2027 that points to Saturday 15 to Tuesday 18 May. Because this one follows the actual start of Dhul Hijjah, a late moon sighting would push it to Sunday 16 to Wednesday 19 May.
HRSD publishes the exact start and return dates a couple of weeks before each Eid, usually on its website and its X account. Treat the dates here as a planning guide and the ministry's notice as final.
When a holiday falls on your weekend
Article 24 deals with overlaps directly. If an Eid day lands on your weekly rest day, you get the same number of days back, either before or after the break. Annual leave that runs over Eid is extended by the Eid days. Sick leave over Eid is paid in full for those days. There's one exception: when National Day or Founding Day falls inside an Eid break, there's no extra day.
Here's how that plays out in 2027, using the expected dates. Friday is the default rest day under the Labor Law unless your contract sets another day.
| Break | Days | Weekend overlap | What the rule gives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eid al-Fitr | Tue 9 to Fri 12 Mar | Friday 12 March | 1 day added before or after the break |
| Eid al-Adha | Sat 15 to Tue 18 May | Saturday 15 May, if Saturday is your rest day | 1 day added for Friday and Saturday weekend workers; none if your only rest day is Friday |
| Founding Day | Mon 22 Feb | None | Nothing to compensate |
| National Day | Thu 23 Sep | None | A long weekend into Friday |
This is how the rule works on paper. Which day gets added, and when you're due back, is set in HRSD's announcement for that Eid, so wait for it before you book flights on the edge of the break.
Working on a holiday: overtime pay
Some jobs can't stop for Eid: hospitals, hotels, airports and retail during the holiday rush. Article 107 of the Labor Law says every hour you work on an Eid or official holiday counts as overtime. The rate is your actual hourly wage plus 50% of your basic hourly wage. Allowances such as housing and transport count in the actual wage, but not in the basic, unless your contract says otherwise.
HRSD's awareness guide gives its own example. A worker on a SAR 4,000 basic salary and a SAR 6,000 total wage has an actual hourly wage of SAR 25 and a basic hourly wage of SAR 16.67. Each overtime hour is therefore 25 plus half of 16.67, or about SAR 33.33. Three hours come to about SAR 100.
Here's a full Eid shift on the same method, with a month counted as 30 days of 8 hours:
| Item | Amount (SAR) | How it's worked out |
|---|---|---|
| Basic salary | 5,000 | From the contract |
| Housing and transport | 1,500 | Total wage 6,500 |
| Actual hourly wage | 27.08 | 6,500 ÷ 240 hours |
| Half the basic hourly wage | 10.42 | 5,000 ÷ 240 ÷ 2 |
| Rate per Eid hour | 37.50 | 27.08 + 10.42 |
| 8-hour Eid shift | 300.00 | 37.50 × 8 |
Since the Labor Law amendments that took effect in February 2025, you and your employer can agree on paid time off instead of the cash. HRSD's guide says that takes your agreement, at least one and a half hours of leave for each overtime hour, use of the leave within 60 days, and no more than 30 days of it a year. If nobody asks you, the default is the money.
The same split between basic and total wage decides your end-of-service award, which our Saudi end of service calculator works out from your contract figures.
Ramadan working hours
HRSD's awareness guide puts normal private-sector hours at 8 a day or 48 a week. During Ramadan, the limit for Muslim workers drops to 6 hours a day and 36 a week. With Ramadan expected from 8 February to 8 or 9 March 2027, that covers almost all of February and the start of March, Founding Day included. Ramadan is also when many people pay zakat, and our zakat calculator can help with the sums.
Public sector: longer Eid breaks
Government employees under the civil service system follow Article 127 of the Implementing Regulation of Human Resources in Civil Service. The weekly rest there is Friday and Saturday. Eid al-Fitr runs from 25 Ramadan to the end of 5 Shawwal, and Eid al-Adha from 5 Dhul Hijjah to the end of 15 Dhul Hijjah. National Day and Founding Day are one day each. Since a 2023 amendment, a national holiday that lands on a Saturday moves to the following Sunday, and one that lands on a Friday moves to the Thursday before.
Put the Umm al-Qura dates into those rules and you get these expected 2027 windows:
| Holiday | Last working day | Holiday period | Back at work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eid al-Fitr | Wed 3 Mar | Thu 4 Mar (25 Ramadan) to Sat 13 Mar (5 Shawwal) | Sun 14 Mar |
| Eid al-Adha | Mon 10 May | Tue 11 May (5 Dhul Hijjah) to Fri 21 May (15 Dhul Hijjah), then the weekend | Sun 23 May |
If Ramadan runs to 30 days, 5 Shawwal moves to Sunday 14 March and the return date would shift with it. In 2026, a Ministry of Health circular told civil-service staff they were off from the end of work on 23 Ramadan (12 March) to the end of 5 Shawwal (24 March), while its staff under the Labor Law broke on 29 Ramadan. So check which system your contract falls under, even in a government building.
Article 128 adds that a single working day sitting between two official holidays also becomes a holiday. Founding Day 2027 is a Monday, which leaves Sunday 21 February between the Saturday rest day and the holiday. Whether that Sunday is given off isn't something we could confirm, so watch for the government circular. Government staff who are told to work through a holiday can get leave instead of overtime pay under Article 129: one day for each day worked, and two days for each of Eid day and the two days after it, to be used within a year.
How the Eid dates are decided
Saudi Arabia uses the Umm al-Qura calendar for official dates, and it's the source of every Hijri date on this page. The calendar is computed in advance. The religious start of Ramadan, Shawwal and Dhul Hijjah is confirmed by the Supreme Court after people try to see the new crescent on the evening of the 29th of the previous month. If it's seen, the new month starts the next day. If it isn't, the month runs to 30 days.
For 2027, the evenings to watch are:
- Saturday 6 February, for the Ramadan crescent (29 Sha'ban)
- Monday 8 March, for Shawwal. If the moon is seen, Eid al-Fitr is Tuesday 9 March; if not, Wednesday 10 March.
- Thursday 6 May, for Dhul Hijjah. If it isn't seen, Arafat Day moves to Sunday 16 May and Eid al-Adha to Monday 17 May.
In 2026, all three announcements matched the Umm al-Qura dates. The Supreme Court called for sighting of the Shawwal moon on the evening of 18 March, the crescent wasn't seen, and the Royal Court declared Friday 20 March as Eid al-Fitr. Dhul Hijjah then began on 18 May, with Arafat Day on 26 May and Eid al-Adha on 27 May, according to the Saudi Press Agency. A match one year doesn't promise one the next, which is why the Eid dates here carry the word "expected".
How to plan your 2027 leave
- Check whether your contract falls under the Labor Law or the civil service rules. Your HR team can tell you, and private-sector contracts are also listed on Qiwa.
- Put the fixed days in your calendar now: Monday 22 February and Thursday 23 September.
- Pencil in the Eid breaks above, and keep one spare day on each side when you book travel.
- Watch for HRSD's announcement a couple of weeks before each Eid for the exact start and return dates.
- If you're rostered to work over Eid, agree in writing whether you'll be paid overtime or given time off.
FAQ
When is Eid al-Fitr 2027 in Saudi Arabia?
The Umm al-Qura calendar puts 1 Shawwal 1448 on Tuesday 9 March 2027. The Supreme Court confirms it after the moon sighting on the evening of Monday 8 March. If the crescent isn't seen, Eid would be Wednesday 10 March.
When is Eid al-Adha 2027 in Saudi Arabia?
Expected on Sunday 16 May 2027, with Arafat Day on Saturday 15 May, based on the Umm al-Qura calendar. Both move a day later if the Dhul Hijjah crescent isn't seen on the evening of 6 May.
How many public holidays does the Saudi private sector get?
Ten days a year: 4 for Eid al-Fitr, 4 for Eid al-Adha, 1 for National Day on 23 September and 1 for Founding Day on 22 February, under Article 24 of the Labor Law Implementing Regulations.
Is Founding Day 2027 a holiday?
Yes. Founding Day on 22 February is an official holiday for both sectors. In 2027 it's a Monday, during Ramadan.
What if Eid falls on my day off?
In the private sector, Article 24 gives you the same number of days back, before or after the break. HRSD's announcement for each Eid sets the exact dates.
Do I get extra pay for working on Eid?
Yes. Hours worked on official holidays count as overtime: your actual hourly wage plus 50% of your basic hourly wage. You can agree to paid time off instead, at no less than one and a half hours of leave per overtime hour.
Is the Islamic New Year a public holiday in Saudi Arabia?
No. 1 Muharram 1449, expected on Sunday 6 June 2027, isn't on the list of official holidays in either the Labor Law regulations or the civil service regulation.
This is general information, not legal advice, and WorldScope is not a government service. Eid dates are expected dates from the Umm al-Qura calendar and depend on the official moon sighting. Holiday start and return dates are set in each year's official announcement, so check the official site (HRSD, my.gov.sa or SPA) before you plan. Checked against the sources below on 27 Oct 2026.
Sources
I read each of these on 27 October 2026 (Riyadh time). Hijri dates were converted with two separate Umm al-Qura implementations, which agreed on every date.
- HRSD, Awareness Guide on the Rights and Duties of Employers and Workers (2025, PDF)
- HRSD, Implementing Regulations of the Labor Law, Article 24 (PDF)
- HRSD, Labor Law English translation, Article 107 (PDF)
- HRSD, Implementing Regulation of Human Resources in Civil Service, Articles 127 to 129 (Arabic, PDF)
- Argaam: HRSD makes 22 February 2026 an official holiday for the public and private sectors
- Gulf Business: Saudi Arabia announces Eid al-Fitr 2026 holiday dates
- Saudi Press Agency: Supreme Court calls for sighting of the Shawwal crescent, 2026
- Okaz: Royal Court statement on Eid al-Fitr 1447 (Arabic)
- Saudi Press Agency: start of Dhul Hijjah 1447 and Arafat Day
- Sabq: Ministry of Health Eid al-Fitr 2026 holiday circular (Arabic)
- Dentons: amendments to the Saudi Labor Law in force from February 2025
Follow WorldScope on X for live updates: @worldscope_now
Comments