4-day week: Employees' rights could possibly be strengthened

Full-time staff’ rights to ask for a four-day working week could possibly be strengthened beneath authorities plans to extend versatile working.

Workers would nonetheless should work their full hours to obtain their full pay however might request to compress their contracted hours right into a shorter working week, as first reported by the Daily Telegraph.

Since April, staff have already had the correct to ask for versatile working as quickly as they begin a job however corporations do not need to agree.

The federal government says it won’t impose modifications on employees or companies, however the Conservatives say companies are “petrified” concerning the plans.

A spokesperson on the Division for Enterprise and Commerce stated: “Any modifications to employment laws can be consulted on, working in partnership with enterprise.”

Training Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith informed LBC that “versatile working is definitely good for productiveness”.

She stated the four-day week being mentioned would enable somebody to work 10 hours a day for 4 days as an alternative of working eight hours a day for 5 days.

“You are still doing the identical quantity of labor, however maybe you are doing it in a manner that allows you, for instance, to wish much less childcare, to spend extra time with your loved ones, to do different issues, that encourages extra individuals into the office,” she added.

Workers have already got the right to request flexible working

Employers should cope with requests in a “cheap method” however can flip them down “if they’ve an excellent enterprise motive for doing so”.

Charlie Thompson, employment companion at regulation agency Stewarts, stated: “It’s not but clear what this “new” regulation will entail.

“One chance is for the federal government to make it tougher for employers to refuse such requests, as a result of at current it’s fairly simple for them to take action.”

Earlier this yr, Morrisons scrapped four-day working weeks for its head workplace employees following suggestions.

To be able to make the four-day week work, employees needed to work some Saturdays, which resulted in complaints and dissatisfaction.

In July, Asda shelved a four-day week trial after employees complained that their longer shifts have been too demanding.

Ben Willmott, head of public coverage at HR physique the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Growth, stated versatile working preparations comparable to compressed hours “can assist individuals steadiness their work and residential life commitments, whereas additionally supporting employer efforts to recruit and retain employees”.

“Nonetheless versatile working has to work for each the enterprise and staff if it’s to be sustainable.”

He added that it could make sense for the federal government to evaluate the affect of modifications launched in April, which permit individuals to request versatile working from day one among employment, earlier than making additional modifications.

Kelly Burton is a psychological well being nurse from Crewe who requested to condense her hours right into a 4 day working week to get a greater work-life steadiness.

She was granted permission from her employer as soon as she might show it was potential to do her five-day job within the area of 4 days.

“Since July I’ve began working Monday to Thursday 8-6pm as an alternative of Monday to Friday 9-5pm.

“I’m happier at work, can spend the additional day taking care of aged mother and father and nonetheless have my weekend. Excellent work-life steadiness,” Ms Burton stated.

She thinks she would have needed to change jobs or transfer to part-time if versatile working hadn’t been an choice.

“My employer has a cheerful employee and a cheerful employee at all times goes over and above for them,” she stated.

Particulars of any modifications are anticipated within the autumn when a regulation to create a brand new bundle of staff’ rights is predicted to start its journey via Parliament.

Labour has pledged to repeal some anti-trade union legal guidelines, prohibit the usage of zero-hours contracts and develop versatile working preparations.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calls the proposals “the largest improve to staff’ rights in a technology”.

However the Conservative opposition claims the strategy would harm enterprise and result in decreased productiveness.

In 2022, a number of UK corporations occurred in a six-month trial to check a four-day working week, which noticed staff obtain full pay for working fewer hours.

Tyler Grange, an environmental consultancy, took half within the trial and in 2023 told the BBC it was sticking with the working sample.

Simon Ursell, its managing director, stated the primary month of the trial had been “a bit white knuckle”.

However the agency stated it discovered the additional day without work boosted employees happiness and even resulted in additional individuals making use of to work there.

Nonetheless, the experiment didn’t work for Mark Roderick’s engineering and industrial provides firm Allcap.

“Versus 10 regular workdays, we discovered that staff would have 9 excessive ones – as soon as they bought to their scheduled day without work they have been exhausted,” he stated final yr.

“As soon as we factored in holidays, illness and caring obligations, we additionally struggled to search out cowl for an worker on their relaxation day,” he said.