Five-day national and three-day religious holidays await approval
The Civil Service Bureau will propose to the Civil Service Council and the Council of Ministers that Thursday, January 30, be declared an official holiday for Isra and Me’raj.

• The proposed five-day national holiday will run from Tuesday, February 25, to Saturday, March 1, with work resuming on Sunday, March 2.
Sources revealed that the proposed national holiday will span five consecutive days. It begins with National Day on Tuesday, February 25, followed by Liberation Day on Wednesday, February 26. Thursday, February 27, will serve as a rest day, bridging the two official holidays. By including Friday and Saturday, February 28 and March 1, the holiday extends to five days, with work resuming on Sunday, March 2, according to Q8-Press.
In a related context, sources stated that the Civil Service Bureau will submit a letter to the Civil Service Council and the Council of Ministers, proposing that Thursday, January 30, be declared an official holiday for all public agencies, bodies, and institutions on the occasion of Isra and Me’raj.
The sources explained that the decision to postpone the holiday to Thursday, instead of observing it on Monday, January 27—the actual anniversary of Isra and Me’raj—was based on the Cabinet’s policy to delay such holidays when they fall between two working days, moving them to the following Thursday.
As a result, the holiday will extend over Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, corresponding to January 30, 31, and February 1, respectively. Official work will resume on Sunday, February 2. It was noted that holidays for agencies, bodies, and entities with specialized work schedules will be determined by the respective authorities, taking the public interest into consideration.
Additionally, sources said that the Civil Service Bureau has notified its employees about the launch of a smart fingerprint application. This app enables employees to record their attendance and departure, and verify their presence, using their mobile phones.
Sources stated that the Information Systems Sector, supervised by Assistant Undersecretary Abeer Al-Fares, successfully launched the smart fingerprint application alongside traditional fingerprint devices. Employees can choose to register their attendance either through their phones or by using the regular fingerprint devices, which remain operational.
The sources added that the smart fingerprint application includes a feature that sends a reminder notification to employees about the fingerprint registration time to confirm their presence. They noted that registering fingerprints via the application requires a key condition: the employee must be physically present inside the Civil Service Bureau building.