Coming out of the pandemic, there has been an increased focus on work-life balance, mental health and wellbeing, and employers’ roles in supporting staff on these fronts. Employers in some industries have also seen a talent war emerge as they find it harder to recruit and retain the best employees.
These conditions have arguably assisted the four-day working week in gaining momentum. Happy employees enjoying a healthy work-life balance are less likely to join the so-called 'great resignation'. For the moment, offering a four-day working week is sufficiently unusual that it is likely to give a competitive advantage when recruiting new talent.
If it is correct that productivity is not negatively impacted, a four-day working week provides a way to recruit and retain without the cost burden of increasing salaries. It also offers savings in terms of recruitment costs, potentially office running, and for some employees, childcare.
Other benefits include reducing the business' carbon footprint due to less frequent commuting, as well as a potential social impact if employers use their time off for voluntary work. There is also a view that a four-day working week could improve equality by better enabling employees with caring responsibilities to manage them and therefore remain in the workforce.
It is difficult to see how some industries could actually make the change based on current structures, however. For example, shift-based industries such as retail and restaurants may find it very difficult to reduce shifts without reducing pay or seeing a drop in productivity.
There are also a number of practical and legal considerations for employers to grapple with regarding implementation. A four-day week affects an employee’s working hours, but also has a knock-on effect on other policies, particularly annual leave, overtime and time owed in lieu (TOIL). Overtime and TOIL policies will need looking at, particularly in the context of when they are triggered. Clear communication is critical regarding the circumstances in which employees may be expected to work during their non-working days or hours, and how, if at all, they are paid for this time.
The four-day working week movement may also encourage employers to look at other ways of improving flexibility and work-life balance. For example, moving away from the traditional nine to five in favour of genuinely flexible working patterns, or introducing 'no meetings' days or rules on contact with staff outside of certain hours.
It will also be interesting to see what impact the political situation has on working hours. The current government has announced reforms to flexible working legislation, and a 32-hour working week formed part of Labour’s 2019 election manifesto, so we may see this area receiving greater focus as we move closer to a general election by January 2025.
Joanna Powis is a counsel in the labor and employment group and Alison Heaton is a senior employment lawyer at Reed Smith
