Workers set to be given right to four-day week

It’s part of the government’s plans to increase flexible working

The government is set to give workers the right to ask their employer for a four-day working week.

Labour is looking to introduce the plan as part of its efforts to increase flexible working for employees.

According to the Daily Telegraph, employees would still have to work their full hours to receive their full pay but could request to compress their contracted hours into a shorter working week.

This could allow staff to work four longer days during a week instead of five.

The government said the plans were designed to increase productivity and help encourage more people back into work.

However, Conservative shadow business secretary Kevin Hollinrake claimed businesses were “petrified” about the plans.

Labour ministers have insisted the change will not be imposed on staff or businesses though, with a spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade saying: “Any changes to employment legislation will be consulted on, working in partnership with business.”

At the moment, workers have the right to ask for flexible working but employers only need to deal with requests in a “reasonable manner.”

But when Labour came into power after their landslide general election win, they made it the legal default for workers to be offered flexible working.

The plans are part of a raft of reforms Labour is introducing to bolster workers’ rights, along with measures such as banning zero-hour contracts, increasing the minimum wage and repealing some anti-trade union laws.

The government also has plans to introduce a right to switch off for workers. This could see staff who are repeatedly contacted by their bosses out of hours about work being entitled to thousands in compensation.

The package of workers’ rights will start its process to becoming law in the autumn, when more details about the plans should be revealed.