The situation at South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) has been described as “nuttier than a squirrel’s brunch” after a report revealed one in six four-day week employees have second jobs.
Independent councillor Dan Lentell has put forward a motion for the formal monitoring of second jobs after new figures showed 16% of the council’s staff worked elsewhere on their paid day off.
He told Personnel Today: “I’m 100% in favour of our society transitioning (where possible) towards more four-in-seven models of working. Life is for living and what’s the point of all this tech if we work longer than medieval serfs? But what’s happening at SCDC is nuttier than a squirrel’s brunch.”
Lentell questioned how residents could possibly benefit from staff working another job while on a full-time council salary.
Four-day working week
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SCDC, which first began trialling a four-day week two years ago, pays its employees a full salary on the basis they carry out 100% of their role requirements in 80% of their hours.
In 2024, Robertson Cooper’s health and wellbeing survey found that 16% of staff were carrying out other paid work on their day off – compared to just 1% when the trial started in 2023. However, the council’s waste services team had not participated at this stage.
According to SCDC, the figures were “not surprising” since it was aware of employees in this department having second jobs, such as evening cleaning work, before the trial began.
A spokesperson said: “It is not unusual in the shared waste service for these colleagues to take on second part-time jobs.”
The council stressed the key point is that the practice of a second job for all the employees surveyed pre-dated the trial.
However, Elliot Keck, head of campaigns at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Local taxpayers will rightly be worried that council staff balancing multiple jobs will not be able to deliver the high-quality services expected.
“South Cambridgeshire District Council have embarked on a reckless experiment that risks failing residents and leaving workers burnt out. Council bosses should bring the trial to an end and focus on providing for the people of South Cambridgeshire.”
The motion, which states that “full-time compensation should reflect full-time dedication to the duties and responsibilities of the council”, will be discussed on 14 January.
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