Ramadan
 

So, seems they've been saying it'll be Thursday for ages, so predicting either tomorrow or a week next Tuesday...

Still, just had the lovely email saying we won't be working reduced hours. Great news. :zzz:

Re: Ramadan
 

wont be working reduced hours ? huh ?
how come ?

Re: Ramadan
 

tomorrow?????

Re: Ramadan
 

We did last year, which apparently was a first. But last year I think the performance was better than this, YTD. I think Ramadan hours are therefore seen as a reward, which has now been removed.

Still, I'm only in that office one or two days a week, so fingers crossed head office work reduced hours. Failing that, I'll just work from home 5 days a week :thumbup:

Re: Ramadan
 

working from home is a bliss , I did that once , I was just amazed at the amount of distractions that I had to deal with :nod:
work hours cut is not that big here in Oman , just two hours , per day .

Re: Ramadan
 

I'm actually alright from home, if I'm busy. In fact, if I've got lots to do I'm much more effective.

If things are slower then I just do it in bursts and then allow a distraction for a bit, then get back to it.

Two hours is better than nothing. My favourite was 8-1 in my old place. That was a lovely Ramadan. Sega Republic at least 3x a week.

I get why people / bosses / companies don't want to see a 2-3 hour per person per day reduction in efforts but it's one of those things. It's like expecting people to be busy during December, especially the last week or two before Xmas.

C'est la vie.

Re: Ramadan
 

What your office is doing is illegal....

Everyone, bar none, is to get reduced working hours during Ramadan. It is the law of these blessed lands.

Company not following Ramadan timing for non-muslims - what to do? : dubai

Re: Ramadan
 

I tell everyone the same every year. :zzz:

It's Article 65 of UAE Labour Law, "during the month of Ramadan, normal working hours shall be reduced by two hours."

Exemptions are government (who tend to do it anyway), domestic staff and DIFC where it only applies to fasting Muslims.

Although it's not necessary, it annoys me that so many employers here act as if the law doesn't apply to them. You'd all be aa depressed as me if you saw the emails I receive from mistreated employees every week.

Re: Ramadan
 

Lose lose situation isn't it.

I read Meow's National article the other day in preparation for this so know I can ring the MoL and tell them. But then surely they'll be told that someone in the company has done this and they won't be huge fans of that and will just be hassle.

Re: Ramadan
 

I know. :(

You are supposed to be able to report anonymously but I don't know how well that works. I don't see it as a major issue for those of us who don't fast and are on decent incomes but it's just not right for those less fortunate.

It's supposed to be a month of reflection, when you think of others...

Re: Ramadan
 

Can you get someone else to do it ???

Re: Ramadan
 

Muslim colleagues (in this division / office there is one) can take the shorter hours obviously, just the rest of us can't.

Could do. But I'm only there one morning and one full day a week, just disagree with flagrantly breaking rules that would give me time off. It also means if I am there more for some reason, that I'd be driving home at stupid hour.

Re: Ramadan
 

wish my hours are like that , I have to be at office for 6 continuous hours , boring as hell

Re: Ramadan
 

Try 12

Re: Ramadan
 

I did , non consecutive

Re: Ramadan
 

It's the same over here in Qatar, muslim colleagues have reduced working hours but we're still on regular ones. But at least it's a lot quieter.

Re: Ramadan
 

This Ramzan is going to be pretty bad for the poor blokes working outdoors. 14 hour a day fast plus this type of heat. If it were upto me I would enforce a law that anyone having to work construction etc is exempt from the fast. Poor sods making the buildings, malls, stadiums etc have it the worst! I can feel it in my bones that this summer there will be a few deaths in this region, maybe more than just a few :(

Re: Ramadan
 

I love Ramadan

I have my lunch then go home.

Re: Ramadan
 

True ... But most of these workers , as I heard once , do not fast and they eat and drink albeit surreptitiously

Re: Ramadan
 

yes I have heard that from quite a few people as well and to be honest I think its fair play to them if they want to live and work :rofl::rofl:
I mean in all honesty a person might even be able to survive this summer with a fast for such a long time and for 30 days in a row but the damage that is done to the body while doing such hard labor on a fast HAS to have some repercussions later on in life you know. I am sure a doctor can shed a better life on that topic. Btw for a proper poor person every day of the year is like a ramazan day so what does he care about religion or heaven or hell, he is already living in one.

Oh and good news, according to the authorities, its only hot from 12.30 to 3.00 pm here in the middle east, otherwise its raining bunny rabbits with ice-cubes stuck up their bums! :sneaky:
Midday break rule for outdoor workers starts on Monday | GulfNews.com

Re: Ramadan
 

:rofl: ...

that is funny , I don't know about the UAE , I guess it is more humid over there but boy o boy here in Oman , it is absolutely sweltering , the other day I forgot to put the car shade and the steering wheel was too hot to even touch ! damn ! Can't get out of my car for minutes without getting drenched in sweat ...
absoltely awful heat ,
getting back to the original point , I guess that it is illegal to eat and drink in public , one has to hide to do it I guess ... which never made sense to me ...
I wonder if they'd throw you in the slammer if you got caught chewing on a sandwich :huh:

Re: Ramadan
 

I always put my Muslim guys on nightshift during Ramadan , that with overtime paid after 6 hrs and Iftar brought to site always goes down well .

Th Summer directive here 11.30-3.30pm takes the sting out of a lot of work outside but remember it's defined here as "An open place under the direct sun"

We counter act that with shaded areas / misters / cool rooms and water breaks. It's all about managing risk . Unfortunately the guys at the bottom who work for unscrupulous employers are at very high risk .

Re: Ramadan
 

previously we had to schedule breaks for SWR (shade , water and rest ) for Locals to prevent severe cases of heat exhaustion , it was necessary since many started fainting under the sun ... it doesn't matter what precautions are being taken , working directly under the ME sun is merciless .....

Re: Ramadan
 

Exactly.

You may personally being doing some good and helping, but there's so many bastard employers out there that don't. :thumbdown:

Re: Ramadan
 

Luxury (to be said in a Yorkshire accent).

Re: Ramadan
 

you sir are a good man!

Theres a carrefour being built close to me and I can see the poor sods just sitting under the trees in the afternoon trying to rest / eat but ofcourse the hot air wont even let them breathe. Thats no way to live imho

Re: Ramadan
 

Think of the poor Bedouin seal trappers in the Arctic Circle at this time of year: Midnight Sun = weeks without a drink or morsel of sustenance. These so called workers in the Middle East have got it easy.

Re: Ramadan
 

More fool them. Go by the times of Mecca

Re: Ramadan
 

Several words too many?

Re: Ramadan
 

We just got an email saying our "official" hours will be 9am-4pm

absolutely no chance of actually working those hours though

Re: Ramadan
 

:thumbsup:

I'm yet to find out what the head office / project hours are. I won't have been included on any email for these guys. Can't imagine the guys seconded into a government client are going to be doing too much though....

Re: Ramadan
 

We're government (UAE). Got told today we're on 5 hours.

Re: Ramadan
 

Theoretically they can in the UAE - for up to a month (I think it said in The National). They also said that tourists would only ever be warned and told not to eat in public, but residents who had been here "for a few years" should know better and would be arrested and referred to the legal system for a decision.

Re: Ramadan
 

so can't take any food to work :unsure:...
i just have to figure out a way to keep myself going during the day
if a bottle of water is offensive and a sandwich can get you jailed then I better take my precautions .

I presume tomorrow everyone will be cranky and cantankerous ..... :nod:

Re: Ramadan
 

Is the Barracuda open at all during the month? I'm arriving when it's all in full flow.

Re: Ramadan
 

Always closed the whole of Ramadan, big signs up again this year like every year. The cellars also closed. A&E and MMI open if you have a licence.

Re: Ramadan
 

Bummer. I asked in A&E last time I was over and they said they were open, so not the end of the world.

Re: Ramadan
 

Lots of companies have a room set aside for non-fasters to eat and drink in.

Re: Ramadan
 

But you need a sick note from yer mum.

Medical experts reckon 50% of KSA nationals will have type 2 diabetes by 2030. That's going to create a fasting issue!

Re: Ramadan
 

We have one very small room here. Had to bring in packed lunch and hide bottles of water on my desk too. These bits aren't so bad, but the fact that I can't get up and make a coffee to bring back to my desk may see the end of me before July...