A thousand workers at 17 employers are taking part in the latest four-day working week trial managed by the 4 Day Week Campaign and flexible working consultancy Timewise.
Employers, including Crate Brewery and British Society for Immunology, began testing a number of flexible work options yesterday (Monday 4 November, 2024). These include a four-day week, a shorter working week or a nine-day fortnight with no loss of pay for employees. The trial will run for six months with the majority of employers testing a four-day week.
The University of Cambridge, Boston College and The Autonomy Institute are providing the pilot with research support, and the results will be shared with the government next summer.
Further organisations taking part in the trial include Bron Afon – a housing association in Wales with 420 staff, consultancy firm Operational Research in Health and international NGO Global Witness. Organisations involved represent different sectors including housing, education, consultancy, digital marketing, hospitality, technology, legal, and the charity and NGO sector.
Four more companies are scheduled to run trials next year.
1.5m already work four day week
An Owl Labs survey of 2,000 UK workers in July found that 6 percent of full-time employees already work a four-day week. This equals around 1.5 million full-time workers.
Research from Autonomy published last week found that Iceland’s economy is outperforming most of Europe after moving to a shorter working week, while in the same week, more than 500 civil servants working at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government signed a petition calling for a four-day week trial to be launched in their department.
Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said: “We don’t have to just imagine a four-day week anymore – because it’s already a reality for hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of workers in the UK.
“With 50 percent more free time and no loss in pay, a four-day week gives people the freedom to live happier, more fulfilling lives.
“We look forward to presenting the results of this latest trial to the new Labour government next summer.”
British Society for Immunology (BSI) chief executive Doug Brown said: “We are excited to offer this new benefit to those employees at the BSI who choose to participate, and hope that this will further enhance our working culture, providing staff with the opportunity to improve their work-life balance and making us an even more attractive employer.
“Of course, it is vital that the quality of service we provide to our members is maintained, and we will regularly review this throughout the pilot to make sure we continue to provide the full coverage of offerings and high-quality customer service that our members rely on us for.”
Georgia Pearson, manager at Crate Brewery, said: “As a hospitality business, this trial feels somewhat groundbreaking for our industry.
“For operational teams, physically demanding service shifts can mean that off days are spent recuperating, rather than enjoying personal time off.
“Although we’ve never struggled with retention, we recognise the competitive advantage that comes with being ahead of the curve with a four-day week, and we hope it will aid recruitment particularly in support office roles.
“This is an opportunity to reimagine our ways of working, operate in a more focussed, efficient and structured way, while offering participating team members all of the benefits that are known to come from reducing working hours.”
Claire Campbell, CEO of Timewise, commented: “It’s great to see a wide range of employers participating in this latest trial. Many have frontline staff, and the pilots provide an opportunity to think creatively about how to deliver a five or seven day service whilst offering staff a four-day week.
“We look forward to sharing the results next year, adding to the body of evidence that supporting people with choices about their working lives makes business sense.”
