Labour rebels push for four-day week in employment rights drive

More than a dozen Labour MPs, and one Green MP, have challenged Angela Rayner to commit to exploring a transition ‘across the economy; from five working days to four - with no reduction in pay. A group of Labour rebels are pushing for Angela Rayner to adopt a four-day working week in her employment rights bill. More than a dozen Labour MPs, and one Green MP, have challenged the deputy prime minister to commit to exploring a transition “across the economy” from five working days to four - with no reduction in pay.

Flexible working campaigners have welcomed Ms Rayner’s employment rights bill, which will give workers greater access to flexible hours as well as stronger day one employment protections and banning fire and rehire. But the rebel group of Labour MPs, which includes former shadow ministers Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Rachael Maskell and Richard Burgon, has said the bill does not go far enough as it only allows workers to compress their hours rather than reducing them altogether.

Compressed hours can include where workers complete the same number of hours over fewer days, but the 4 Day Week Foundation has argued moving from 40 to 32 hours per week is crucial for improving work-life balance and upholding productivity. Ms Ribeiro-Addy told The Independent: “We’ve seen from numerous trials across the UK that a reduced working week with no loss of pay can have positive benefits for the workplace and for the well-being of workers, but it can also have wider benefits for the economy, environment and gender equality.”.

The group pushing for the four-day week also includes Imran Hussain, who played a leading role developing the employment rights bill under Sir Keir Starmer in opposition. They cited figures from the 4 Day Week Foundation which show more than 200 companies across the UK representing 5,000 workers have permanently reduced workers’ hours to 32 or less per week after trialing the change. Meanwhile research by Barclays Bank found British workers have missed out on a reduction in hours happening across Europe, with those in Britain now working 27 per cent more hours on average than Germany.

Labour MP Peter Dowd, who proposed the amendment, said: “The benefits of greater productivity in the economy as a result of new technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) must be passed back to workers in more free leisure time. “A four-day, 32 hour working week is the future of work and I urge my party to back this amendment so we can begin a much wider transition.”. And Maya Ellis, who is backing the calls, said public sector bodies are more productive when working four-day weeks, calling on Labour to “be brave enough” to implement the change.

The Labour MP said: “Data shows that working four days leads to greater productivity than five. That means in public organisations for example, that we can get through a higher volume of tasks, creating the increase in capacity we so desperately need to see in our public services. “I hope our government can be brave enough to take the first steps now, in what I believe will one day be considered the norm.”.

Deputy PM Ms Rayner, the driving force behind the employment rights bill, has previously said a four-day week is “no threat to the economy”. Other cabinet ministers believed to be open-minded on the idea include business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, energy secretary Ed Miliband and work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall. The idea was also a flagship Labour policy under Jeremy Corbyn, with a pledge to reduce average weekly hours to 32 within a decade with no loss of pay.

But, responding to the amendment, a government spokesperson said there were “no plans to mandate a four-day work week for five days’ pay - not in government nor in any other sector”. The spokesperson added: “We are strengthening workers’ rights to request flexibility in their working pattern which is different to this and organisations will still be able to reject unworkable requests if it doesn't work for the business or organisation.”.