The first official pilot of a four-day week under the Labour government has begun this week, with a view to presenting the findings next summer.
Applications for the latest pilot, run by the 4 Day Week Campaign and flexible working consultancy Timewise, opened in the summer. Participants have been attending training and workshops on managing the shorter working week since September.
Under the pilot, 17 businesses employing around 1,000 workers will run either a four-day week or a nine-day fortnight, where workers get an extra day off every two weeks, with no loss of pay.
The organisation ran its first pilot in 2022, where more than 60 employers trialled the new working arrangements. Fifty-four of the participants were still running four-day weeks 18 months later.
The 4 Day Week campaign claims that almost 200 British businesses have switched to a four-day week permanently. Employers that have successfully made the switch claim to have improved work-life balance for their workers, experienced higher productivity and been better able to attract new recruits thanks to the flexible arrangements.
Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said: “We don’t have to just imagine a four-day week any more, because it’s already a reality for hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of workers in the UK. We look forward to presenting the results of this latest trial to the new Labour government next summer.”
However, a trial at South Cambridgeshire District Council attracted anger from the then local government minister Lee Rowley, who asked the local authority to “stop your experiment immediately” . The council trial found improvements in performance in 11 out of 24 areas, little or no change in 11 areas, and worsening in just two areas, according to analysis by the universities of Cambridge and Salford.
The 4 Day Week Campaign’s trial is being tracked by academics at the University of Cambridge, Boston College and the Autonomy Institute. Participants in this trial include the British Society for Immunology and Crate Brewery in Hackney, east London.
Georgia Pearson, manager at Crate Brewery, said: “As a hospitality business, this trial feels somewhat groundbreaking for our industry. For operational teams, physically demanding service shifts can mean that off days are spent recuperating, rather than enjoying personal time off.
“Although we’ve never struggled with retention, we recognise the competitive advantage that comes with being ahead of the curve with a four-day week, and we hope it will aid recruitment particularly in support office roles. This is an opportunity to reimagine our ways of working, operate in a more focussed, efficient and structured way, while offering participating team members all of the benefits that are known to come from reducing working hours.
