New four-day working week rules from November after 'successful trial'

New UK four-day working week rules will be implemented after a success of first trial. Now, the Guardian newspaper - which has covered the trial extensively - says the group running a second scheme in autumn hopes the Labour Party will be more receptive.

The pilot project has opened to companies to sign up for a November start, with findings to be presented to the government in the summer of 2025. The new pilot will be run by the UK’s 4 Day Week Campaign and flexible working consultancy Timewise, with training starting in September.

Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said he hoped that a Labour government will be more receptive to shifting working practices. “With a new Labour government, change is in the air and we hope to see employers embracing this change by signing up to our pilot,” he said.

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Bron Afon Community Housing, a Welsh social landlord with about 400 staff, is one of the first businesses to sign up to the new pilot. Unji Mathur, an executive director at the company, said: “We are impressed by the impact a shorter working week has had on organisations’ performance, wellbeing and retention.

“We see this as an opportunity for everyone working at Bron Afon to improve our services to customers by unleashing innovation, working smarter and improving our work-life balance.” Ryle said: “As hundreds of British companies and one local council have already shown, a four-day week with no loss of pay can be a win-win for workers and employers.

“The nine to five, five-day working week was invented 100 years ago and is no longer fit for purpose. We are long overdue an update.” Claire Campbell, chief executive of Timewise, said it wanted to see more “site-based, shift-based workers sign up because this is where innovation is needed most”.

She added that she hoped the change “will benefit worker health and retention”.