Councils warned against adopting four-day week

Native Authorities Secretary Steve Reed has written to all council leaders in England warning them to not introduce four-day working weeks.As reported by the Telegraph, the letter is known to say that “council employees endeavor part-time work for full-time pay with out compelling justification could be thought of an indicator, amongst a variety of things, of potential failure”.He added that he hoped he had made the federal government’s coverage “unambiguously clear to all councils”. A Labour supply stated “Voters deserve excessive requirements and arduous work from native councils, and seeing council employees working a four-day week simply will not minimize it.” “They need to get on with the job and ensure residents get one of the best service potential 5 days per week,” the supply added.Within the letter to the councils, which was reported by The Telegraph, Reed says that native authorities shouldn’t be providing “full-time pay for part-time work”.Reed beforehand expressed his “deep disappointment” within the first UK council to undertake a four-day working week.South Cambridgeshire District Council, which is led by the Liberal Democrats, grew to become the primary to make a everlasting transfer to a four-day week in July after it started trialling a shorter working week in 2023.Reed stated there had been a decline in efficiency within the council’s housing service and he requested how the native authority would “mitigate” this.The federal government can intervene in any council whether it is deemed to be failing.Final yr Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer additionally rejected civil servants’ calls for for a four-day working week.Critics of a four-day week say it could cut back productiveness and sluggish financial development however others disagree. A trial within the Scottish public sector this yr discovered a rise in productiveness and enhancements in employees well-being.The Autonomy Institute, which was commissioned by the Scottish authorities to co-ordinate the pilot, discovered that 98% of employees judged morale and motivation to have improved.