Councils pursuing four-day week told to stop ‘immediately’ by Sunak government

Councils taking steps to bring in a four-day week for their staff have been told by Rishi Sunak’s government to should “cease immediately”.

Levelling up secretary Michael Gove’s department has put local authority bosses “on notice” that the practice should not be adopted.

Ministers at the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) argue that the experimental new working arrangement does not deliver value for money for local taxpayers.

It follows a row earlier this year over a Liberal Democrat-run local authority’s trial of offering employees a three-day weekend in exchange for longer shifts.

In September, South Cambridgeshire District Council announced it would extend the pilot until next March – despite ministers previously ordering officials to end it.

Introducing new guidance, the Tories’ local government minister Lee Rowley said: “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 it may “raise concerns directly with the authority, monitor performance more closely and consider options to correct declining performance”.

Mr Rowley added: “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.”

However, South Cambridgeshire District Council – the first local authority in the UK to undertake such a trial – is continuing its trial despite the guidance.

The local authority says there is strong evidence that a three-day weekend is helping with recruitment and retention.

Since January, sickness rates have fallen by a third and complaints about services involved in the pilot have reduced, the authority said.

Council leader Bridget Smith said: “On one hand, government tells us to innovate to cut costs and provide higher quality services; on the other they tell us not to innovate to deliver services.”

“We are best-placed to make these decisions in our area, which has high private sector wages and housing costs, making it very difficult to attract and retain talented staff we need to deliver for residents and businesses.”