Council staff set to stay on four-day week after 'historic' trial
Council workers are set to stay on a four-day week after a successful trial of shorter hours.
After a three-month pilot, South Cambridgeshire District council (SCDC) has recommended a year-long extension of a 30-hour week for its office-based workers.
It is also set to begin a three-month trial for its bin crews and facilities management team.
The MP for South Cambridgeshire, Anthony Browne, previously criticised the work change as staff receive the same full-time pay.
The Tory accused the council of "charging the taxpayer for the privilege" of moving to a four-day working week.
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But the trial showed the council’s performance was “broadly maintained” and working fewer hours has been “overwhelmingly positive” for the health and well-being of staff.
A major study found a four-day week reduced stress among employees significantly, with a huge 71% reporting lower levels of burnout (Jessica Peterson/Getty Images)In February, the results of one of the "world's largest" trials of a four-day working week found nearly all firms were to continue offering workers shorter hours.
Campaigners hailed it as a "breakthrough moment" for the radical policy.
The landmark results from the six-month scheme involving 61 companies, found that 56 - or 92% - had decided to continue with a four-day week.
Involving over 2,900 workers, the study said stress among employees reduced significantly, with a huge 71% reporting lower levels of burnout.
SCDC Lib Dem leader Bridget Smith told the Mirror: “The reason we took this step in the first place was to address the national problem of recruitment and retention in the public sector.
“Throughout the country, it gets more and more difficult to get people to come and work for local government and very difficult to get them to stay.
Lib Dem council leader Bridget Smith said: "People are paid to do a job. They're not paid to be a bottom on a seat for 37 hours a week” (Copyright unknown)"People get pinched by the private sector who can pay them so much more so we have to do something in order to make our local government more attractive than the private sector.
“We were spending £2million a year on agency staff, which is a heck of a lot of money for local government, so we got to the point where we had to try something different.”
She added: “We've got the longest working hours in Europe in this country and the lowest productivity so you have to assume that working long hours doesn't make people more productive, it makes them stressed and less productive.
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“We’ve got to get the mindset that people are paid to do a job. They're not paid to be a bottom on a seat for 37 hours a week.”
Joe Ryle, Director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said: “South Cambridgeshire’s historic trial has been an undeniable success and it paves the way for other councils across the country to follow their lead.
“All workers in this country deserve a four-day week and so it’s only fair that public sector workers benefit too. The evidence shows that a four-day week with no loss of pay improves productivity and is a win-win for both workers and employers.”
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