4-day week bill to be introduced in parliament today

Peter Dowd wants to amend the Working Time Regulations Act 1998 to reduce hours, with any extra time being paid to employers as overtime, at 1.5 times the worker’s rate of pay.

The “32 Hour Working Week Bill” will be introduced for the first time as a 10-minute rule bill today at lunchtime.

The bill is the first ever Parliamentary bill to effectively mandate a four-day working week.

The UK is currently taking part in the biggest experiment of a four-day week. Over 70 companies and 3,300 workers currently taking part in a six-month four-day week pilot, with no loss of pay for workers.

Researchers, at Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College, which are monitoring the trial throughout, surveyed participating companies at around the half-way point.

86% of the companies taking part said they are likely to keep it in place after the pilot ends.

The majority of firms said it is working well for their business, while 95% said productivity had stayed the same or improved during the shorter week.

Last month, South Cambridgeshire District Council became the first UK local authority to move ahead with a four-day week pilot, with no loss of pay for workers. The pilot will begin in January.

The bill was inspired by a similar piece of legislation that has been proposed in the US House of Representatives by Democratic politician Mark Takano.

A study by the think tank Autonomy shows that if the four-day week was implemented across the economy with no loss of pay for workers, it would be affordable to most firms.

Dowd, a former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: “British workers are fed up with long working hours and low wages.

“Automation and technological advances mean that we can now achieve much more in a shorter amount of time. 

“It was almost exactly a century ago that British workers switched from working a six-day week to a five-day week. The time has come to move to a four-day week with no loss of pay.”

Joe Ryle, Director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said:  “Moving to a four-day week would be transformative for wellbeing and would give us all the time to live happier and more fulfilled lives.

“It would also boost productivity which is very low in the UK compared with our European neighbours.”