The 4 day week campaign will run three new pilots for employers in 2025.
A programme for local councils will run from March to May, a pilot for the tech sector from May to July, and a national programme will run from September to October.
The pilots for tech and local councils will offer targeted training and workshops to give employers deep support and feedback, while the national programme will be open to all organisations looking for support in moving to a shorter working week.
The new pilots were confirmed as a report from the campaign and think tank The Autonomy Institute stressed that trials of shorter working weeks in UK schools had shown promising findings.
The report, titled ‘Reimagining Learning: Blueprints for a Shorter School Week in Britain’, urged the government to encourage and support more pilots of shorter working weeks, a four-day week, and nine-day fortnights in schools, to address education’s job retention and recruitment crisis.
The report said: “Using existing case studies of working time reduction within a number of UK schools, this report outlines a blueprint for a much wider adoption of a shorter working week in the UK’s education sector.
“Teaching is one of the most overworked professions in the UK. This has led to widespread stress, mental health challenges, and a high turnover rate in the profession. The underlying logic of ‘more hours equals better education’ holds back the potential of teachers and their work in the UK.”
The report pointed out that the government’s plan to hire 6,500 teachers in England could be at risk if teachers’ lack of work life balance is not tackled.
It sets out three blueprints already in use in schools: a nine day fortnight; four and a half day week where schools finish early on Fridays; and four day week trials, which are showing “promising signs of increased recruitment and job satisfaction”.
