Councils pursuing a four-day working week are “on notice” and should “cease immediately”, the Government has said.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is exploring measures to “ensure that the sector is clear” that the practice should not be adopted, according to newly published guidance.
Ministers say the working arrangement does not deliver value for money for local taxpayers.
The guidance, which is non-statutory, was released on Thursday following a row earlier this year over a local authority’s trial of offering employees a three-day weekend in exchange for longer shifts.
In September, Liberal Democrat-run South Cambridgeshire District Council announced it was continuing with a planned extension of the pilot until next March, despite ministers previously ordering officials to end it.
➡️ Leading councillors have confirmed that a 12-month four-day week trial at South Cambridgeshire District Council is continuing
♻️ The trial will expand to waste collections next week, with more bins being collected on Tuesday to Friday, and no collections from homes on Mondays… pic.twitter.com/R9CrOPTqq0
— South Cambridgeshire (@SouthCambs) September 13, 2023
It was the first local authority in the UK to undertake such a trial.
Introducing the guidance on Thursday, local government minister Lee Rowley said: “In normal circumstances, the Government of course respects the right of councils to make their own decisions on key issues. There are also times, however, when Government deems it proportionate to step in to ensure that residents’ value for money is protected. The issue of the four-day working week is one of those times.”
He added: “Those councils who continue to disregard this guidance are now on notice that the Government will take necessary steps in the coming months ahead to ensure that this practice is ended within local government.”
If councils defy the guidance and there is evidence of service decline, the Government says “departments may raise concerns directly with the authority, monitor performance more closely and consider options to correct declining performance”.
Meanwhile, the 4 Day Week Campaign said it had commissioned polling that shows more than 4 million over-55-year-olds would be more likely to stay in or return to their jobs if offered a four-day week with no loss of pay.
It said the research by Survation suggested that such a working arrangement could help with the Government’s drive to get people back to work.
Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said: “The Government should take seriously all of the potential benefits of a four-day week and consider how it could be implemented to help get people back into work.”
