What we know about Labour's plans for a four-day working week

A government minister has shot down requests from civil servants for a four-day working week, telling them “they won’t get one”.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union have called for a shorter week, claiming it is “critical to attaining a good quality of life” and could help save the government more than £21 million a year.

But pensions minister Emma Reynolds said their demands should not be met, telling Times Radio on Thursday that “we are not living in the 1970s”.

She added: “I see the benefit for those who want to have the flexibility to be able to work part time. I'm a mum of two young children. And you know, sometimes I wish that I worked part time.

“But I don't think as a whole that civil servants as a general rule should work four days rather than five.”

There has been growing discussion about a shorter working week since Labour came into power in July.

While the new government said it supports flexible working, it has stopped short of officially backing a four-day week.

Nevertheless, the government has dropped official concerns about South Cambridgeshire District Council‘s four-day week, as it has not reissued a notice which declared disapproval over the policy.

The council introduced a four-day week in 2023 and faced opposition from the previous Conservative government over the change. The policy continued past the end of its trial period in March this year as the council awaited information from ministers.

A letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the Cambridgeshire authority on Friday said that councils are “rightly responsible for the management and organisation of their own workforces”.

Here's what you need to know about the government's stance – and the wider debate.

Is the UK going to have a four-day working week?

Not officially, the Department for Business and Trade said earlier this year. "We have no plans to impose a four-day working week on employers or employees."

However, a four-day week could eventually come in the form of “compressed hours”, which The Telegraph reported may feature in a new law which would legally oblige companies to offer flexible working from day one, except in jobs where it is “not reasonably feasible”.

The Department for Business and Trade said in August it would announce details about its approach within the following 100 days.

When asked about an updated statement, a spokesperson told Yahoo News UK: “We have no plans to mandate a four-day work week for five days’ pay – not in government nor in any other sector.

“We are strengthening workers’ rights to request flexibility in their working pattern which is different to this and organisations will still be able to reject unworkable requests if it doesn't work for the business or organisation.​”

What are compressed hours?

The government has suggested it supports flexible working which would enable workers to “compress” their current hours into four days. This would mean they work longer shifts on those days.

Speaking on LBC earlier this year, skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith set out what this could look like: “The four-day week that I know is on the front of quite a lot of newspapers today, what we’re actually talking about there is the type of flexible working that enables you to use compressed hours.

“So perhaps instead of working eight hours a day for five days, you work 10 hours a day for four days.

“You’re still doing the same amount of work, but perhaps you’re doing it in a way that enables you, for example, to need less childcare, to spend more time with your family, to do other things, that encourages more people into the workplace.”

Smith added: “We think that flexible working is actually good for productivity.”

What are the benefits of a four-day work week?

Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said allowing workers to compress their hours into four working days would be a welcome move.

But the group ultimately wants the government to go a step further, with people employed on the same pay for four days' work (32 hours) as they currently get for five days (40 hours).

Ryle said: "These proposals would only allow workers to compress their working hours rather than reduce them, which we have found is key for improving work-life balance and also maintaining productivity.

“Compressing the same amount of hours into four days rather than five can be an important first step on the road to a true four-day week, but reducing overall working hours is crucial.”

As well as better work-life balance, the 4 Day Week Campaign lists benefits to employees such as help with the cost of living (with less childcare and commuting costs), more rest and leisure time, and better "life admin" capabilities (shopping, cleaning, sorting finances).

For employers, it says "trials and real-world examples show that employers who move to a four-day week increase productivity and reduce costs", citing a 2021 Henley Business School study which estimated UK businesses saved a combined £104bn a year.

The arrangement would also more than halve staff turnover and free up money to hire an extra 2,345 workers, officials in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimate.

The PCS union says it shows sickness absence could also drop from 4.3 average working days lost per staffer annually to 1.5 days.

On the other hand, some business groups have called for caution over Labour's plans for compressed hours.

Ben Willmott, head of public policy for the CIPD, the professional body for human resources, said: "Flexible working has to work for both the business and workers if it’s to be sustainable, and this needs to be recognised in any changes to regulation."

The Conservatives have previously claimed businesses are “petrified” about Labour’s plans, which the party said would "make doing business more expensive".

Which countries have a four-day work week?

According to the 4 Day Week job listings website, no country has fully adopted the four-day week, though many are experimenting with the idea.

However, in 2022 Belgium introduced the right to a four-day week based on compressed hours, which is what the UK is now proposing.

• Read more from Euronews about the measures being adopted by various European countries

What happened in the four-day working week trial earlier this year?

Most of the UK companies that took part in the world’s biggest ever four-day working week trial have made the policy permanent, research showed earlier this year.

Of the 61 organisations that took part in a six-month UK pilot in 2022, 54 (89%) were still operating the policy a year later, and 31 (51%) made the change permanent.

• Read more from The Guardian here in which Paul Oliver, chief operating officer at Citizens Advice Gateshead, said a four-day week had helped his employees and improved retention

'A four-day week can work – if staff and employers can deal with the challenges'

Prof Miriam Marra, of Henley Business School, who was part of the 2021 study mentioned above, wrote in July: "We need to consider possible risks in this approach. For example, is it a reason for employers not to offer adequate or higher pay in the middle of a cost of living crisis? Or is it a reason for employees to work multiple jobs? While the latter is an individual choice, it should not be caused by the former.

"The four-day working week, like other flexible-work solutions, should be offered by employers who want to recruit talented and motivated employees, invest in them, and offer them time and opportunities to upskill. All of this will help staff to be more productive in their jobs."

• Read more from The Conversation here.