No doubt practices are watching with “interest” the plans of the Labour government as it seeks to reform the employment landscape. With a need to service clients and the animals they possess, practices aren’t 9am to 5pm operations. Rather, they offer a combination of regularity along with non-standard hours; this means that staff need to be flexible.
However, like it or not, the world of employment is changing with more of an emphasis on a positive work–life balance. For some, this means compressing their hours into four, rather than five, days.
Trial four-day week
A couple of years ago, between June and December 2022, a number of employers – some 61 in total – ran a trial organised by non-profit 4 Day Week Global that involved 2,900 workers to see how a four-day week would pan out.
Separately, a Swedish veterinary practice, Kronobäck’s Veterinary Clinic, started its own four-day-week programme.
The participating companies, which included a range of organisations from diverse sectors and sizes, were not required to rigidly deploy one particular type of working time reduction or four-day week, so long as pay was maintained at 100 percent and employees had a “meaningful” reduction in work time. As there was no one-size-fits-all process, employers were permitted to tailor the programme to their needs.
[The participating companies] were not required to rigidly deploy one particular type of working time reduction or four-day week, so long as pay was maintained at 100 percent and employees had a ‘meaningful’ reduction in work time
A positive experience but…
According to a report by Autonomy, the trial “was a resounding success. Of the 61 companies that participated, 56 are continuing with the four-day week (92 percent), with 18 confirming the policy is a permanent change” (Autonomy, 2023).
The report also noted that “employees also found it easier to balance their work with both family and social commitments – for 54 percent, it was easier to balance work with household jobs – and employees were also more satisfied with their household finances, relationships and how their time was being managed”. Further, 60 percent found an increased ability to combine paid work with care responsibilities, and 62 percent said it was easier to combine work with social life (Autonomy, 2023).
But as a story on the BBC noted, the trial didn’t work out universally well: “Some firms abandoned the experiment; others haven’t yet made the move to adopt the format full-time. Even those firms continuing with reduced hours are navigating new challenges arising from shortened workweeks” (Christian, 2023).
It found that as opposed to 10 normal workdays, employees would find themselves with nine extreme days; once they got to their scheduled day off, they were exhausted
One firm, engineering and industrial supplies company Allcap, joined the trial, but rushed the process over its five sites and eventually quit two months early. It found that as opposed to 10 normal workdays, employees would find themselves with nine extreme days; once they got to their scheduled day off, they were exhausted. Further, with holidays, sickness and caring responsibilities, the firm also found it hard to find cover for an employee on their rest day.
And at the start of 2024, Morrisons scrapped four-day working weeks for its head office staff following feedback. To make the four-day week work, staff had to work a number of Saturdays, which led to complaints and dissatisfaction.
The new trial
But there’s another trial that began in November 2024, this time organised by the 4 Day Week Campaign in partnership with flexible working consultancy Timewise, with research support provided by the University of Cambridge, Boston College and the Autonomy Institute. The results of the trial will be presented to the government that is said to be thinking about enhancing flexible working rights with a new right to work four days a week – albeit with the same pay for the same number of hours.
However, a spokesman for the Department for Business and Trade said: “Any changes to employment legislation will be consulted on, working in partnership with business.” It’s unclear how the change will be made – if at all – but one option is to make it harder for employers to refuse a request.
An ITN report noted that campaigners hope that the government will see the four-day working week as a route to bringing much-needed change to the UK. Indeed, Labour MP Peter Dowd has previously said that “with the rollout of artificial intelligence… a shorter working week is looking more and more inevitable”. Another Labour MP, Clive Lewis, has spoken about the societal need for change, saying that “overwork, burnout and mental health issues are far too common in this country, so a four-day week is desperately needed”.
The four-day week in the Kronobäck’s Veterinary Clinic
Ida Wallin, owner and CEO of Kronobäck’s Veterinary Clinic, a practice in Mönsterås in the south of Sweden, had worked in the profession for more than 20 years before setting up her own business in February 2020.
As the story goes, Wallin knew that many in the profession were either off sick or tired from working overtime. She and others she knew no longer found work “fun” – and this was affecting recruitment. Indeed, it was a reason why so many just wanted to work part-time – it made overtime less of a burden.
While one option to deal with the negative situation was to cut back on hours, in reality that wouldn’t have worked with the potential for emergencies arising at any point. The alternative, in her view, was the four-day week that Wallin brought in from January 2022.
Wallin reckons that the four-day week has been a godsend in terms of recruitment – a problem that has caused many Swedish practices to close
As for impact on the practice, Wallin reckons that the four-day week has been a godsend in terms of recruitment – a problem that has caused many Swedish practices to close. She considers it an asset. In fact, Wallin reports that she’s subsequently spent nothing on recruitment, has no one on sick leave and has a sick pay percentage of 1 percent since the four-day week came in. Further, turnover is up from SEK 4 million to SEK 20 million (£288,500 to £1.44 million) and the practice is growing and hiring more staff.
The four-day week is staying at Kronobäck’s Veterinary Clinic.
Planning ahead for possible changes
Whatever is – or is not – being planned by the government, employers may want to give some thought as to what a four-day working week might mean for them and in particular, whether joining a voluntary trial might be something worth exploring. While nothing has as yet been announced by the government, there is the chance of change.
Employers would therefore be best advised familiarising themselves with the current legal framework and understanding existing flexible working laws and the process for handling requests. This includes knowing the statutory reasons for rejecting requests and ensuring that policies are compliant.
This means evaluating how a four-day week would affect their operation, taking into account factors such as staffing needs, customer demand and operational efficiency
Employers need to consider the potential impacts on their business. This means evaluating how a four-day week would affect their operation, taking into account factors such as staffing needs, customer demand and operational efficiency which, in the context of a practice, will mean looking at rotas for late-night and weekend hours. This will help form responses if requests need to be rejected.
In essence, if a request for a four-day working week is made, the employer should open a dialogue with the employee, discussing their proposal and any likely impacts on their roles and the team. Once completed, the employer can make an informed decision to approve or deny the request. The decision must be fair, documented and based on legitimate business reasons. Then the employee must be told of the decision with appropriate explanations if the request has been denied, or the terms of the new arrangement and any adjustments needed to accommodate the change if the request has been approved. Thereafter, the new arrangement must be monitored with adjustments if necessary.
Summary
As the Labour government is, by definition, employee- and individual-orientated, it would be a wise employer who looks at the current landscape and then considers the likely in-bound changes. That said, it’s clear that the four-day week has worked well for some and could do so for others – but only if thoroughly thought through first.
