The government has publicly criticised the first council to adopt the four-day working week, despite its clear benefits.
The Four-day working week
South Cambridgeshire District Council, led by the Liberal Democrats, started trialling the four-day working week in 2023. In July of this year, they made it permanent.
Staff still do the same amount of work, but in 32 hours.
The leader of the council, Bridget Smith, stated that the scheme had saved the council almost £400,000 to date and reduced staff turnover by 41%. Additionally, applications for roles had increased by 123%.
Despite this, the Telegraph reported that Steve Reed, the Communities Secretary, wrote to the leader of the council and expressed his “deep disappointment” with its approach.
In the letter, Reed referred to research from the Universities of Salford, Bradford and Cambridge. It looked at the impact of the council’s temporarily adopted four-day work week. It found that 21 of 24 services improved or stayed the same.
He stated that the research showed:
performance declined in “key-housing related services, including rent collection, re-letting times, and tenant satisfaction with repairs, especially where vulnerable residents may be affected.
But Smith told the Telegraph:
The independently assessed data for the trial showed that all key performance indicators had either improved or remained the same, bar three relating to housing. Independent analysis shows that these three isolated indicators were due to factors completely independent of the four-day working week and we are in fact in the top quartile nationally and performance is improving further.
Hypocrisy
Of course, the rich and famous have spoken out in disgust. How dare anyone work less than 40 hours per week and be able to afford to survive?
‘A four day working week deserves four days pay’
✍️@NickFerrariLBC for LBC Opinionhttps://t.co/mpdN1yiw90
— LBC (@LBC) October 29, 2025
Nick Ferrari, LBC radio presenter, who famously earns £900k for his PART-TIME radio show, claimed that people should be paid less for working four days.
Says man on £900k a year for his part time radio show … 🤦 https://t.co/rXrA3F03qu
— Harry Eccles (@Heccles94) October 29, 2025
Imagine if people were paid based purely on the amount of useful work they do each week. Ferrari would be broke and homeless.
@NickFerrariLBC You work part-time, 15 hours per week and make £900,000. It’s time your pay reflects that. https://t.co/AagItIY8wb
— Junior (@ehimen_junior) October 29, 2025
Bearing in mind he works around three hours every day, he had the cheek to claim that:
it’s not too much to ask for them to turn up for work, is it?
South Cambridgeshire District Council is an exception; however, a four-day working week typically does not mean fewer hours, unless you’re working part-time. It involves compressed hours, which means the same number of hours, but compressed into four working days. Therefore, no one is working any less or ‘not turning up’.
Why don’t people understand that the idea of a 4 day week is doing longer days on those 4?… https://t.co/BaJ6AWxMms
— Michael Wake (@MikeJWake) October 29, 2025
Nevertheless, it still means the same amount of work. If anything, it puts more pressure on workers, with less time to do the same tasks.
As usual, it’s the people who contribute the least to society but earn the most who feel they can tell the rest of us what to do.
Why’s it always the people who earn ludicrous money for doing very little that feel they need to be the ones that tell us that normal people don’t deserve a better quality of life? https://t.co/nQu0W1MMg6
— Sean (@WafcSean) October 29, 2025
Fuck capitalism
The purpose of life is not to work 24/7 until we can no longer do so. But that’s what capitalism, and the rich and powerful, want us to believe.
Everyone who is against a four day week is genuinely braindead. The evidence of efficacy is there. God forbid we find ways to enjoy life instead of spending it fucking working https://t.co/tnmDBOF7aC
— harry (@67__Harry) October 30, 2025
Old completely out of touch male is desperate to stop the little people gaining a few £s. As always with these bloated Right wing millionaires he attacks the average Joe. https://t.co/YoEH73jAb0
— Karen 💜 (@KazP19) October 29, 2025
Research has consistently shown that a four-day workweek improves both mental and physical health, increases productivity, and reduces burnout.
I have met Brighton businesses who have very successfully switched to a four-day week.
Productivity, morale, staff retention are all up.
Exciting research from @SussexUni has shown it to be brain-altering! Positively changing anxiety, depression, stress and sleep quality. https://t.co/dnyFDu2h8B
— Sian Berry (@sianberry) October 30, 2025
But of course, people like Nick Ferrari don’t give a shit about anyone else.
Labour is no longer the party of the workers.
Labour going after successful four day week schemes just shows how increasingly out of touch they are https://t.co/9NYi7K9H20
— James Meadway (@meadwaj) October 30, 2025
Starmer’s track record shows that he does not give a shit about working-class people. From his refusal to introduce a wealth tax, to shafting disabled people, migrants and trans people — it is clear that if you are not wealthy or powerful, then you’re probably also on his hit list.
His government’s choice is now to attack the four-day working week, despite the clear and proven mental health benefits. It shows that once again, Starmer is only here to serve his own interests.
Feature image via Wikimedia Commons
