Four-day week could actually work, UK Government admits

April Curtin

Officials are keeping a close eye on the trial, which started this month

Government officials have accepted that a four-day working week could actually work, as the largest trial in the world for shorter working hours begins in the UK.

At its core, the four day work week premise is relatively simple. Participating companies will offer their employees 100 per cent of their pay for 80 per cent of their time at work with the proviso that while they’re on the job, they deliver 100 per cent productivity.

It’s commonly known as the 100:80:100 model and if this study proves sucessful, we could very well hear more about it in the coming years.

Members of the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) are keeping a close eye on the pilot, The Independent understands, and officials have already met with the study’s organisers to find out more about it. BEIS civil servants discussed how cutting the number of working hours without reducing salaries would work.

Sadly, the government said it has no plans to introduce a four-day working week for employers across the nation. Instead, it will be the “individual choice” of business owners and employees to work out “the best working arrangements for themselves.”

But government officials say they are still committed to supporting this kind of flexible working.

Writing to organisers of the trial on behalf of Business Minister Paul Scully, a BEIS official said: “The government is committed to supporting individuals and businesses to work flexibly.

“While a four-day working week may work well for some workers and employers, the government does not believe there can be a ‘one size fits all’ approach to work arrangements.”

Over 3,300 workers at 70 different companies in the UK are taking part in the six-month pilot, which started this month. Those participating come from a range of sectors – from breweries to chippies and office workers too. It is organised by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with the think-tank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week Campaign, and researchers at Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College.

A new pilot programme is trialling a four-day working week with 70 UK firms.

Joe Ryle, Campaign Director for the 4 Day Week campaign, is calling for a 32-hour working week with no loss of pay. But is it unreasonable to expect to be paid for five days and only work four? pic.twitter.com/JaJiLEXQSK

— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 6, 2022

Joe Ryle, the director of the 4 Day Week campaign, said it was “very encouraging” to see the government keeping a close eye on the trial.

Speaking to The Independent, he said: “Politicians in Westminster across all parties can no longer ignore the growing momentum across British society for a four-day working week. The four-day week with no loss of pay is the future of work and can bring many benefits to the economy, productivity and crucially to the well being of workers. We’re long overdue an update to working hours and it’s an idea whose time has come.”

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