Campaigners for a four-day working week have launched a new pilot project on flexible working.
They aim to gain support from the new Labour government for changes in work practices.
The project is now open for companies to join.
The pilot will start in November, and the findings will be presented to the government by the summer of 2025.
The push for a four-day working week with no loss of pay has gained traction.
This is especially after the COVID-19 pandemic altered work expectations.
61 companies participated in the first UK pilot in 2022.
54 continued with the scheme a year and a half later.
Similar projects have been conducted in Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Iceland.
The upcoming trial will explore flexible working policies, like shorter workweeks and flexible start and finish times.
It will also explore a nine-day fortnight, or compressed hours.
Here, the same number of hours are worked over fewer days.
The pilot will be managed by the UK’s 4 Day Week Campaign and flexible working consultancy Timewise.
Training will start in September.
Academics from the University of Cambridge, Boston College, and the Autonomy Institute will provide research support.
The Conservative UK government has resisted the idea of a four-day week.
When South Cambridgeshire District Council trialed the change, then local government minister Lee Rowley demanded an immediate end to the experiment.
Michael Gove’s department even considered using “financial levers” to force compliance.
“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”
Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, expressed hope the Labour government would be more open to new working practices.
He said: “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.”
Labour did not include a four-day week in its latest manifesto.
However, several influential cabinet members and the Unison union support the policy.
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Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds have all shown interest in flexible working practices.
Bron Afon Community Housing, a Welsh social landlord with about 400 staff, is one of the first businesses to join the new pilot.
Unji Mathur, an executive director at the company, noted the positive impact of shorter working weeks on performance, wellbeing, and retention.
The success of the South Cambridgeshire trial, where fewer workers quit, planning decisions were faster, and calls were answered more quickly, has fuelled the argument for a four-day week.
