More than 100 UK companies become four-day week employers

Around 2,600 people at 100 companies will work 32 hours over a four-day working pattern with no loss of pay.

Advocates for the four-day week say it improves productivity, even with fewer hours, and staff wellbeing. Also, at a time of UK-wide labour shortages, the benefit has also proven to be a useful tool in attracting and retaining staff.

Companies and organisations from sectors including manufacturing, architecture, technology, housing and more have accredited in the last year and a half through the 4 Day Week Campaign’s Employer Accreditation Scheme.

The scheme recognises a four-day, 32 hour working week with no loss of pay as Gold Standard and a four-day, 35 hour working week as Silver Standard. Organisations can only be accredited if they can show a genuine reduction in weekly working hours has taken place.

The six-month pilot, run by academics at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, plus Boston College in the US and thinktank Autonomy, is due to end at the beginning of December and the results are scheduled for release in February 2023.

The accreditation scheme is separate from the pilot, which has over 70 companies and 3,300 employees involved, in that they have taken on the four day week permanently.

The Scottish Government backed pilot is due to begin in Scotland early next year and the first ever Local Authority pilot run by South Cambridgeshire District Council will begin in January.

The two biggest organisations signed up are Atom Bank and global marketing company Awin who each have around 450 staff in the UK.

Anne-Marie Lister, Chief People Officer at Atom Bank told Reward Strategy that their adoption of the four day week has been a "huge success".

"We want and expect to see more companies introducing increasingly flexible working practices in 2023. As people continue to reconsider what they want from their careers, we believe companies can do more to help their employees maintain a healthier work/life balance. 

"We think the 20th century concept of a five-day week is, in many cases, no longer fit for purpose for 21st century businesses. Its introduction originally allowed for the establishment of the weekend, with all the benefits for employees this entailed. At Atom, we felt the time is right for the next evolution in the world of work."

Lister notes that it didn’t happen for Atom Bank overnight and required stringent planning and constant review.

"We’re unwinding almost 100 years of traditional working practice here and it’s not going to happen overnight. 

"There is still work to do as we embed the new ways of working however, our business metrics tell us that the change has been good for our business in many ways."

Joe Ryle, Director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said: “It’s fantastic to have reached the 100 employers’ milestone. This shows the momentum there is behind a four-day working week.

We want to see a four-day week with no loss of pay become the normal way of working in this country by the end of the decade so we are aiming to sign up many more companies over the next few years.

“With many businesses struggling to afford 10% inflation pay rises, we’re starting to see increasing evidence that a four-day week with no loss of pay is being offered as an alternative solution.”

Adam Ross, CEO of Awin, said: “What started initially as a six-month trial has proven to be one of the most transformative initiatives we’ve seen in the history of the company.

“Over the course of the last year and a half, we have not only seen a tremendous increase in employee wellness and well-being but concurrently, our customer service and relations, as well as talent relations and retention also have benefitted.”