{"id":22246,"date":"2024-10-24T09:29:19","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T09:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/?p=22246"},"modified":"2024-10-24T13:37:36","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T13:37:36","slug":"everything-you-need-to-know-about-four-day-week-and-compressed-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-four-day-week-and-compressed-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you need to know about four day week and compressed hours"},"content":{"rendered":"

For those of us working full-time, switching to a four day week feels like a dream. Who wouldn\u2019t want an extra day to get ahead on life admin, have a lie-in, or even head away for a cheeky long weekend? It would be like having a bank holiday every week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Incredibly, that dream might be about to come true! As part of a raft of changes within their new flexible working bill, rumours are circling that the Labour government intends to introduce the right for every UK worker to request a four day working week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What could that look like in reality? Let\u2019s take a look.<\/span><\/p>\n

What would a compressed four day week look like?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The right to a four day week is part of Labour\u2019s plans to allow employees more flexibility over choosing their working hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crucially, the proposed law doesn\u2019t plan to simply chop a day off at the end of the working week. Instead, it would allow employees to request fitting their hours across four days rather than five.<\/span><\/p>\n

For most full-time workers, compressed working hours would look like working four 10-hour days compared to five eight-hour days.<\/span><\/p>\n

It could be a gamechanger for working parents, helping reduce some of the cost burden of childcare by freeing up their time to be at home. Workers with other demands on their time such as other caring needs will also benefit.<\/span><\/p>\n

While some companies may choose to have a set company-wide day off, e.g. on Fridays, others may ask their employees to spread out their extra days off throughout the week so there is always some cover.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is this the same as the four day week trial?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Labour\u2019s proposal is notably different from the <\/span>four day week trial<\/span><\/a> campaign, which instead suggests reducing working hours to a 32 hour week (four eight-hour days) with no loss of earnings.<\/span><\/p>\n

The theory here is that giving employers an extra day to recharge, spend time with family, friends or pursue hobbies, leads to more fulfilled, more productive workers able to accomplish more despite the shorter time frame.<\/span><\/p>\n

The shorter week has also become a desirable work perk used to attract new joiners and retain existing employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are four day weeks suitable for everyone?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Under the proposed plans, employers will only be able to reject the request if it\u2019s not possible for someone to effectively do their job on a compressed schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moving to compressed hours may not be possible in some sectors, such as key workers like teachers and police officers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, retailer <\/span>Asda<\/span><\/a> piloted a compressed four day week trial but has since scrapped it, citing that their staff found it too physically exhausting to compress five days’ work across four days.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, for many office-based and remote workers, the new flexibility measures could prove popular.<\/span><\/p>\n

How many jobs already offer a four day week?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Looking at our data for September, 10,617 jobs were on offer with a four day week set-up, up from 10,353 jobs in September 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n