01 March 2023 , 17:59
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Angela Rayner has urged businesses to look at introducing a four-day working week.
It comes after said they will continue offering workers shorter hours.
The Labour Deputy Leader told a room of around 300 business leaders: “if you haven’t already looked at [the trial], please do”.
She said: “In terms of the four-day working week, it goes back to the first question about flexible working. If you can deliver within a four-day working week, then why not?”
Ms Rayner, who is also Shadow Secretary for the Future of Work, admitted she didn’t think “you can prescribe everything to every person” but added: “Actually most employers know that if you can deliver a better work-life balance for people, you’re going to retain your staff and have better productivity.
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Angela Rayner, Shadow Deputy Leader and Secretary for the Future of Work (Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning)“So I actually think that it’s really important that there were trials that were done on the four-day working week and I think people will cotton onto the fact that it’s really good if it works for their sector and boosts productivity.”
Speaking at an event on the future of work hosted by the Confederation of British Industry, Ms Rayner compared the four-day week to “home-working in the pandemic”.
She said: “More people are now working from home than they’ve ever done before and actually businesses and workers themselves realise it can increase productivity and reduce the basic costs that a business can have.”
She encouraged people to look at the study on the four-day working week and see whether they can deliver it.
“Because if you do deliver it, then you’ll ensure you get better staff that stay with your company for longer because they value the fact that you’re investing in them and your work-life balance,” she told businesses.
The six-month trial found that 56 out of 61 companies - or 92% - had decided to continue with a four-day week.
Stress among employees working a four-day week reduced significantly, according to a study (Getty Images)Among those 18 confirmed the policy would be a permanent change.
Involving over 2,900 workers, the study claimed that stress among employees reduced significantly, with a huge 71% reporting lower levels of burnout.
There was a substantial decline - 57% - in the likelihood an employee would quit.
Companies' revenue stayed broadly the same, the report said, with some seeing a rise of 1.4% on average.
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Vacancies reached a record high of 1.3million last Spring, according to the Office for National Statistics.
It was the first time the figure had risen above the number of unemployed people - as people are leaving the UK labour market.
Vacancies have started to come down a little but remain above 1.1million.
The UK is short of 330,000 workers due to Brexit, according to a joint report by the Centre for European Reform and UK in a Changing Europe published in January.
Worker shortages are also being driven by people deciding to retire early.
Labour yesterday announced plans for large firms to set out Menopause Action Plans detailing how they are supporting women with menopause at work.
It comes after one in 10 women aged 45-55 have left their jobs due to menopausal symptoms, according to research supported by the Fawcett Society.
The move was unveiled by Ms Rayner and Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary Anneliese Dodds.
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