Communities Secretary warns councils not to adopt a four-day working week

This comes after the Government wrote to the leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council in October to express “deep disappointment” at a decline in performance in key housing-related services following the local authority’s adoption of a four-day week. In response the leader of South Cambridgeshire insisted that it was "an exceptionally high performing council".

In July this year, South Cambridgeshire voted to adopt a four-day work week permanently, after considering independent research that showed most services improved or stayed the same under the work programme and in light of a "remarkable" boost to recruitment.

Under the council’s four-day week, staff are expected to carry out 100 per cent of their work, in around 80 per cent of their contracted hours, without reduction in pay.

According to the Daily Telegraph, in the letter to councils sent this month, Steve Reed reiterated that local authorities should not be offering “full-time pay for part-time work”.

Mr Reed wrote: “The provision the current guidance makes in relation to the four-day week remains in force and that I take this issue very seriously, in particular that ‘council staff undertaking part-time work for full-time pay without compelling justification’ would be considered an indicator, among a wide range of factors, of potential failure.”

He added: “I hope that makes my position on this matter and the Government’s policy unambiguously clear to all councils. We will set out further detail in due course in the new Best Value Guidance.”

The Communities Secretary has the power to carry out a council’s functions if it is deemed to be “failing” under the Local Government Act 1999.

Lottie Winson