Why is everyone talking about a four-day week?

The Government has already announced its plans to strengthen the right to request flexible working and there has been a lot of talk recently about a four-day working week. But the four-day working week is not new. As long as flexible working rules have been in place, it has been an option.

 The Government’s proposals:

In Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay, released in the lead-up to the July 2024 general election, it promised to “help ensure workers can benefit from flexible working […] by making flexible working the default from day one for all workers, except where it is not reasonably feasible”. According to an article published by The Telegraph on 29 August 2024, “Workers are to be given new rights to demand a four-day week in a law planned for this autumn”. It isn’t clear whether this report is anything new or are based on the Plan to Make Work Pay. Hopefully, clarity will be provided by the Employment Rights Bill which is to be laid before Parliament within 100 days of Labour entering government, sometime in October.

Requesting a flexible working pattern:

The right to request flexible working was first introduced in April 2003 for eligible employees. Since 6 April 2024, all employees from the first day of employment can request it, where they have not made two other requests in the preceding 12 months.

Under flexible working, employees can request to change:

·       The hours they are required to work

·       The times they are required to work

·       Where they work.

These allow for a wide range of working patterns to be requested.

One of the patterns to emerge is “compressed hours”, where an employee increases their working hour over four days to absorb the fifth day’s hours. But this isn’t the only way to do it. Different organisations have different ways of doing this, with varying degrees of success.

Practicalities of a four-day working week:

There are practical challenges of implementing the shorter working week. Employers must seek employee agreement before changing contractual terms and conditions. Whilst a reduction in working hours will likely be favoured by many, this won’t always be the case, especially if it increases daily working hours or reduces salary. Once the changes have been consulted on and accepted, employers must still monitor the performance and attitudes of their people.

Employers will also have to be clear about their productivity expectations. Often, employees on four-day working weeks are still expected to produce the same levels of work, so find themselves more stressed due to the lack of time to finish their work. They may feel forced to work overtime during evenings or weekends which can cause problems.

It will be important that arrangements are made so that the “lost day” doesn’t detriment the effectiveness of employees. How will meetings be scheduled? Asking an employee to attend a meeting on their off day negates the function of having it in the first place, even if the employee is recompensed.

Check out BrAInbox for instant answers to questions like:

What are compressed hours and do I have to allow employees to change to this way of working if they ask for it?

Can employees request a 4 day week?

What happens if I need longer than two months to respond to a flexible working request?

Advantages of a four-day working week:

The pandemic initiated a shift in employees’ priorities and expectations, with a focus on an effective work-life balance. As such, more employees are looking to their employer to facilitate flexible and hybrid working arrangements, and if their employer cannot provide this they may move on.

As living costs continue to rise, there are also now extra pressures on employers to support employees financially. With a shorter working week, employees are saving on commuter costs, lunch expenses and childcare fees, which all add up to benefit the employee.

Employees who feel like their employer supports their work-life balance and puts measures in place to improve emotional and financial wellbeing will be more engaged and motivated, and it could attract new talent to the organisation.

Takeaway:

There are pros and cons of introducing a four-day working week, and these will vary from organisation to organisation. Contact our HR Advisory Team for advice if you receive a flexible working request or are considering a change to a four-day working week.