The government could save around £21.4 million a year if it allowed civil servants to work four days a week, a union has claimed.
Research by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union found that, should Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) employees be permitted to cut down their days while remaining on the same wage, cost savings would come from a reduction in both staff turnover and sickness absence.
The union believes the move would enable the department to hire an extra 2,345 people as a result of a 57% drop in staff turnover, while a 65% reduction in sick leave from an average of 4.3 days to 1.5 days per year would be the equivalent of gaining of 328 new workers.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “We’ve long argued the social, practical and professional benefits of a four-day week, now this research shows the financial benefits too. It also suggests that any opposition to employees working a four-day week is purely ideological. Why else would an employer stand in the way of progress?”
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The findings released by the civil service union followed interviews with more than 1,200 employees and form part of its campaign for Defra to carry out a pilot programme within the department to promote the benefits of a four-day week.
Heathcote added: “Our members are resolute in their belief that a four-day week is critical to attaining a good quality of life, improving their health and wellbeing and helping them to meet caring responsibilities, while all the time increasing their productivity.”
Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said: “The four-day week is an idea whose time has come. As hundreds of British companies in the private sector have already shown, a four-day week with no loss of pay can be a win-win for both workers and employers.
“It’s now time to see if it can be more widely applied in the public sector and Defra is a great place to start. We’re proud to be supporting PCS members in their campaign.”
However, a Defra spokesperson said: “There are no plans for a four-day working week.”
The department highlighted that it already offers “generous” family-friendly and occupational sick pay policies, as well as supportive flexible working arrangements.
Union members working for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have also joined Defra staff in campaigning for a four-day week, while employees at the Office for National Statistics are planning to strike over mandatory office attendance.
Meanwhile, Metropolitan Police staff are currently voting on strike action over compulsory office returns, with the voting due to close on 10 December.
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