UK

A thousand workers participate in four-day working week trial without loss of pay

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead 

Today

LEFT FOOT FORWARD

‘We look forward to presenting the results of this latest trial to the new Labour government next summer.’

A thousand employees in Britain are getting extra time off without a reduction in pay in part of the Four-Day Week Campaign.

The trial launched on November 4 and will run until April.

It follows a successful similar trial in 2022, which, after reports of improved staff morale, and a reduction in stress without negative repercussions on performance, 56 out of the 61 participating companies permanently adopted a four-day working week.

17 businesses are involved in the current trial. Most are running a four-day work week model, but some are implementing a nine-day fortnight, in which workers get an extra day off every two weeks.

Georgia Pearson, manager at Crate Brewery, one of the participating businesses, described the pilot as “groundbreaking.” She believes that pioneering such a progressive model could provide a strong competitive advantage in the recruitment landscape.

“For operational teams, physically demanding service shifts can mean that off days are spent recuperating, rather than enjoying personal time off,” she said.

The 4 Day Week Campaign launched in 2022. It says almost 200 businesses in Britain have permanently switched to a four-day week.

Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign said that we don’t have to just imagine a four-day week anymore. “It’s already a reality for hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of workers in the UK.”

Labour has shown interest in flexible work options, with several senior politicians supporting the model. The deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said it poses “no threat to the economy.”

“If you can deliver within a four-day working week, then why not?” Rayner said in 2023.

But the new government has yet to commit to a four-day working week. Following a petition calling for a shorter working week signed by over 500 civil servants represented by the PCS union, a spokesperson at the department for Housing, Communities and Local Government said it “is not government policy or something we are considering.”

However, businesses do not need approval from the government to go ahead with the new working model.

“We look forward to presenting the results of this latest trial to the new Labour government next summer,” said Joe Ryle.