Green Party Councillors asked Sheffield City Council to investigate introducing a 4 day working week at the Full Council meeting on Wednesday 4th December.
Following a successful trial in other Councils, Sheffield’s Green Councillors proposed that the Council looks into the options for a 4 day working week for council staff. South Cambridgeshire District Council brought in a 4 day week over a 15 month period saving this small Council £370,000.
Councillor Toby Mallinson said
“The principle of a 4 day working week is that 100% of the work is done in 80% of the hours. Flexible working means that the Council operations will continue to be delivered throughout the traditional working week. It does not mean that the Council will close on one day per week. There is strong evidence that people get more done in less hours by working more efficiently.
“A 4 day working week could be attractive to employees as it means those with caring responsibilities have more flexibility and it also helps people who volunteer in the community. The shorter week helps people’s health and wellbeing, meaning less staff sickness and greater staff retention. This reduces the cost of replacing and training new staff and of recruitment. Being able to employ and retain more permanent staff means the Council doesn’t have to use expensive agency staff and so saves the Council money.
“The UK suffers from chronic low productivity alongside high levels of stress at work. A lot of people work very hard in systems that are very inefficient. Moving to a 4-day working week without reduction in pay or benefits has been shown to create a big change in the way employers operate with huge benefits for their employees.
“A recent trial with 61 companies found that 56 continued after the trial. Benefits included improved productivity, well-being, work-life balance, recruitment & retention, sickness absence, and carbon emissions.
“An Independent report by both Salford and Cambridge University, into a 4 week trial at South Cambridgeshire District Council found improved performance across a range of Council performance indicators including staff turnover, number of calls answered, number of planning applications processed, invoices paid on time and the percentage of complaints responded to within timescale.
“The new Labour Government no longer supports a block on Councils introducing a 4 day working week, which was the position held by the previous Conservative Government.This gives Sheffield City Council an opportunity to introduce a 4 day week trial and assess what savings can be realised and performance improvements can be achieved under these new working arrangements.
“Sheffield Green Councillors believe that our Council should investigate the experience of other Councils who have trialled the 4-day week with a view to trialling the idea in Sheffield. As a lead employer in the city, the Council should be forward thinking and demonstrate well researched good practice to other employers. Such change could also reduce costs through improved productivity.”
The Labour Party voted against the proposal and the Liberal Democrats abstained. This meant that the proposal was not passed on this occasion.
