Civil servants were advised that a four-day workweek is the last thing the UK economy needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 4 Day Week Campaign has more than 150 approved companies, and it is claimed to have positive effects on employee retention and stress reduction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs civil servants have filed a petition for a four-day trial week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Critics countered that reducing working hours by a fifth would just exacerbate the productivity challenges currently plaguing public sector firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg declared: \u201cAfter 30 years of low productivity growth the last thing the UK economy needs is a shorter working week. This is especially true of the public sector which is less productive now than it was in 1997.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said its proposal would involve a 20% reduction in working hours for staff with no loss of wages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move followed pressure from some government ministers to increase the amount of time civil servants spend in their workplaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former Cabinet Minister Sir John Redwood added: \u201cIt should be left to employers and employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you have got a highly productive workforce then that is something you could negotiate with them on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut if you have got a productivity problem, you would need to get productivity sorted before you even start to think about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t afford a big drop in productivity with a loss of a fifth of the working time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt has got to be affordable. This decade, productivity has fallen 7%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we are running out of money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, claimed official figures showed that almost two million workers reported suffering from work-related ill health in 2022\/23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This, he said, demonstrated the urgency of a cut in the working week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: “Our very British culture of long working hours and low pay is pushing people to the brink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We work some of the longest hours in Europe which is causing burnout for millions and not producing good results for the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We are long overdue a reduction in working hours. The time has come for a four-day working week, with no loss in pay.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Civil servants were advised that a four-day workweek is the last thing the UK economy needs. The 4 Day Week Campaign has more than 150 approved companies, and it is … <\/p>\n