A four-day working week
A four-day working week – new legislation?
Employment Law
Following the publication of the UK’s four-day week pilot in 2023, of which 61 companies and around 2,900 workers took place, the question of whether we should move to a four-day working week has been hitting the headlines.
The labour government has already planned to ban zero-hour contracts, end “fire and rehire” practices and give workers the “right to switch off” as part of their “New Deal for Working People”. Now, it appears that the government could introduce legislation to allow employees to compress their contracted hours across four days, rather than five. This may be implemented, for example, by employers allowing employees to work 8:00 – 18:00, rather than the traditional 9:00 – 17:00 model.
There may be many reasons why employees would prefer to work a four-day working week, whether that is to create more time to care for dependents, or to allow provide for additional time for recreational activities.
Whilst the UK’s four-day working week pilot found that this working pattern was more effective in some industries than others, it is clear that the labour governments plans constituting a ‘seismic shift’ of Employment Law reforms continues to be seen.
As it stands, the current legal framework which provides employees with a day one statutory right to request a flexible working remains. Employers must accept the request unless there is a genuine business reason not to, therefore making it clear that this is only a right to request, rather than a standalone right to flexible working. Of the 61 companies that participated, 56 are continuing with the four-day week (92%), with 18 confirming the policy is a permanent change. Whether a similar stance can be taken by employers in relation to any right to a four-day working week remains to be seen, and is certainly something that we anticipate will remain a hot topic this year.
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