The world of work as we knew it changed drastically back in March 2020 when the global pandemic forced employers to adapt and react in order to survive.
Working from home, hybrid working, skeleton staff and virtual meetings all became the new normal and for many businesses, and this continues to be the case. Whilst many business owners were sceptical in the beginning, most have at least considered whether there are more effective ways of working that can benefit both employees and employers alike.
Making a change from a traditional 9-5 Monday to Friday workplace, to a business that offers flexibility and a shorter working week can be daunting. It is important to carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages to your business before implementing.
Our Employment Law Team at Lamb Brooks explore how a 4-day working week can impact businesses and their staff and what practical and legal considerations need to be made.
The Four Day Working Week
A 6-month pilot of a 4-day work week took place in 2022 in the UK with 3300 workers at 70 companies all taking part in the experiment to obtain data and see if the model would be feasible for other businesses. A mixture of businesses took part, from local takeaways to tech giants but the results were unanimous.
All companies that participated are planning to stick with the shorted working week, with 97% of employees wanting to continue with the new work pattern and 70% saying that they would need to see a 10-50% pay rise to entice them back to a 5-day work schedule.
Across the world, workplaces have different patterns of working. Some countries, who you could argue are ahead of the curve, have been practicing a 4-day working week for some time already and have reaped the benefits of a healthier, more motivated workforce.
With the introduction of more and more technology and automation, there is an argument that people’s work loads have been gradually reduced over the years. Things like having virtual meetings has drastically reduced employees time travelling and meeting face-to-face. Which means that a 4-day week could be feasible, and workloads could be condensed.
As a result of the trials and companies adopting a reduced working week to save on costs, many employees are going to their employers with cases for them to also make the change.
Benefits of a 4-Day Week
Every business is different and for some, a shorter working week would be entirely impractical. But for those considering taking the leap, here are some of the outcomes that you might find benefit your business:
- Reduced overheads of running a workplace – 52 days a year without needing to run, heat and power a workplace can save a business considerable amount, especially when energy and fuel costs are high
- Employees see a cost saving with less travel to the workplace
- Employees see a cost saving with childcare and/or dog sitters
- Less commuting makes for happier employees but also complements a business wanting to be ‘greener’ and more environmentally friendly
- Improved work / life balance for employees, spending more time with their loved ones
- Reduction in sickness and stress leave
- Increased positivity as employees feel more motivated and happier
- Increased staff retention
- Opens up the recruitment market to those not able or willing to work a full week
Disadvantages of a 4-Day Week
Whilst there are a number of pros to a 4-day working week, especially the financial benefits to both the employee and the employer, there are also some pitfalls to be aware of, including:
- The model doesn’t suit all businesses who need to be available to provide a service or product 5, 6 or 7 days a week
- Employees are likely to be expected to work longer hours or work harder to make up for the shorter week which could see stress levels increase
- Employees could end up working from home more to make up for any shortfalls, which de-creases their work / life balance, having the opposite effect
- There may be an upset to your clients or customers that would need to be considered
- The cultural shift could be accepted by some employees and contested by others
- The impact of a 4-day working week may fade after some time as the novelty wears off
- Employers could be faced with paying overtime if additional hours are needed if contracts have not been drafted to include additional hours
- Employers need to tread carefully and consider discrimination, unfairness and benefits
How to Make a 4-Day Week Successful
This is a major shake up to your business, its procedures and culture. It is something that should be given careful consideration and researched thoroughly to see how other businesses operating in the same industry have managed the change process successfully.
Plan Ahead – Have a goal in mind for when you want to start the new working practices. Give yourself plenty of time, for example, you might want aim to implement from 1 July 2024.
Start Small – It would be sensible to trial the idea first with a small sample to monitor, measure and reflect on the results.
Communication is Key – Make sure that this is something that the majority of your workforce actually want! It is no good ploughing ahead with an initiative that alienates your top employees. It is also important to get feedback from all levels on how it is working.
Be Clear – It is vital that you have clear guidelines, policies and procedures relating to your new ways of working. It is also imperative that all managers are on board and singing from the same hymn sheet to make sure that it works in practice.
Legal Considerations
If you are serious about implementing a 4-day working week, then you will need to make major changes to your existing employee’s contracts and ways of working.
- Consult with Staff
You should go through a consultation period with your workforce, calling everyone in on a one-to-one basis to discuss how the changes will affect them and their employment terms.
- Amending Employment Contracts
A reduction in the working week will require your employment contracts to be amended and for some staff, there may be more considerations to make in terms of their contract terms.
- Policies, Procedures and Handbooks
Your suite of HR documentation will need to be reviewed and re-written to reflect the changes. This can be a time-consuming task, but is essential to make sure you are being compliant.
- Discrimination and Equality
Employers must tread carefully when changing the terms of employment if there is a risk that the proposed changes will discriminate against any members of staff, particularly those with protected characteristics.
- Part Time Workers
Employers need to think about how the changes will impact employees who already work less than 5 days a week.
- Holiday & Sickness
You may also need to revisit your holiday and sickness policies to reflect the changes.
- Staff Use of Their Work Day Off
Employers should be aware that if staff decide to work on their ‘day off’ what the consequences could be. There is an issue that, for example, some male workers could use the extra day to put in more hours at work, whereas some female workers could be using that day to look after young children. There is also a conflict issue where staff could use their additional day to work elsewhere or volunteer.
Alternatives to a 4-Day Week
Working patterns change over time. Henry Ford was one of the first to introduce a 5-day working week of 40 hours. Before then employees tended to work 6 days a week, only taking Sundays off.
If looking at the pros, cons and number of legal considerations puts you off reducing the working days for your business, then you might want to explore other avenues to offer employees more flexibility and help to reduce your costs.
This could include:
- A working from home policy
- A hybrid working policy
- A fully flexible working environment
- Finish early on a Friday
- 9-day fortnights – every other week is a 4-day week
- Additional annual leave
- Unlimited annual leave
- Enhanced sick pay or sick leave
- Shorter workdays
- Introduce more IT that can help support your staff and productivity
- Assess your workspace
- Wellbeing policy
Whether or not you choose to introduce a four-day working week, it can be helpful in the ever-changing employment landscape to keep an open mind to change and be willing to adapt should your business or your employees seek to benefit from evolving.
Employment Law Advice
Our Employment Law Team at Lamb Brooks enjoy working with forward-thinking businesses to help support them with any changes or restructures they are making to their businesses.
Our Solicitors can help in a number of ways including; facilitating consultations, amending your contracts and policies, advising on grievances or disputes, providing training and helping you through the change management process.
Alternatively, we also work on a retainer basis for several businesses, who benefit from having a ‘lawyer in their pocket’ for whenever the need arises for some additional support, opinions or sense-checking.
For some clarity or advice on implementing changes to your workplace and contracts, please do not hesitate to contact us. Call us on 01256 844888, email enquiries@lambbroks.com or speak to our online chat assistant at any time of day.
The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.