Largest UK public sector trial of four-day week sees huge benefits

In the largest public sector trial of the four-day week in Britain, fewer refuse collectors quit and there were faster planning decisions, more rapid benefits processing and quicker call answering, independent research has found.
 

South Cambridgeshire district council’s controversial experiment with a shorter working week resulted in improvements in performance in 11 out of 24 areas, little or no change in 11 areas and worsening of performance in two areas, according to analysis of productivity before and during the 15-month trial by academics at the universities of Cambridge and Salford.
 

The multi-year study of the trial involving about 450 desk staff plus refuse collectors found:

• Staff turnover fell by 39%, helping save £371,500 in a year, mostly on agency staff costs.

• Regular household planning applications were decided about a week and a half earlier.
  Approximately 15% more major planning application decisions were completed within the correct timescale, compared with before.

• The time taken to process changes to housing benefit and council tax benefit claims fell.

On the downside, rent collection for council housing worsened slightly, although this was attributed to the cost of living crisis. The speed with which empty council houses were relet fell slightly, from 28 to 30 days on average. The results were adjusted for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Joe Ryle, the director of the 4 Day Week Campaign said the results heralded “a huge opportunity for councils and organisations across the public sector to start planning for a four-day working week”.

Considering a four day week for your organisation? Here are the legal watch-outs:

If you are going to change a working pattern that would be a fundamental change to the contract which would require agreement from each individual employee.

If you are unable to get agreement from everyone then you may need to collectively consult and, if there is a possibility that you will terminate current contracts and issue new contracts based on a 4 day working week and/or a change of hours, and 20 or more people are affected, there will be a minimum period for consultation and you will need to notify the Secretary of State on an HR1 form of the actions you are taking.

There may be employees with certain protected characteristics that make a change to the working week more difficult for them. Consideration should be given to any discrimination risks.

Ultimately, with the right arrangements in place, as well as a collaborative approach between you and your staff and effective communication, you should be able to ensure an engaged, happy, productive workforce.

If you would like support with operational analysis and strategy for your business, or to discuss any of legal issues mentioned above, please contact our team on 01342 347063 or email us via hello@starfordlegalhr.com