THE UK government has warned councils in England not to introduce four-day working weeks, saying staff should not receive full-time pay for part-time work.
Local Government Secretary Steve Reed wrote to all council leaders in England on the issue.
As reported by The Telegraph, the letter said that “council staff undertaking part-time work for full-time pay without compelling justification would be considered an indicator, among a wide range of factors, of potential failure”.
Reed said he hoped he had made the government’s policy “unambiguously clear to all councils”. In the letter, reported by The Telegraph, he said local authorities should not be offering “full-time pay for part-time work”.
A Labour source told the BBC: “Voters deserve high standards and hard work from local councils, and seeing council staff working a four-day week just won’t cut it.” The source added: “They should get on with the job and make sure residents get the best service possible five days a week.”
Reed previously said he felt “deep disappointment” after South Cambridgeshire District Council became the first UK council to permanently adopt a four-day working week in July, following a trial in 2023. He said there had been a decline in the council’s housing service and asked how it would “mitigate” this.
The government can intervene in councils deemed to be failing. Last year, prime minister Keir Starmer also rejected calls for a four-day week for civil servants.
A Scottish public sector trial found increased productivity, with the Autonomy Institute reporting that 98 per cent of staff said morale and motivation improved.
