Four-day week could save Defra £20m+ a year

The government could save £21.4m a year by allowing Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs staff to work a four-day week, according to research by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union.

The study, carried out by Defra statisticians after interviewing more than 1,200 workers, estimates staff turnover would reduce annually by 57%, freeing up the money to hire an additional 2,345 employees.

The sum is roughly equivalent to the department’s flood defence budget for Northumbria.

It also shows sickness absence could drop by 65% from 4.3 average working days lost per employee each year to 1.5 days – the equivalent of gaining 328 new employees.

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?

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 well-being and helping them to meet caring responsibilities, while all the time increasing their productivity.”

The research is part of PCS’s campaign for Defra to carry out a pilot scheme within the department so managers can see for themselves the benefits of a four-day working week.

PCS members working at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are also campaigning for a four-day working week while those at the Office of National Statistics have voted for strike action over compulsory office attendance and those working for the Metropolitan Police yesterday started a strike ballot over returning to the office.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer rejected civil servants’ demands for a four-day working week, after a minister said: “We’re not living in the 1970s.” Starmer’s official spokesman said it is “not government policy to support a four-day working week”.

Pensions minister Emma Reynolds was more forthright in her response, as she simply said civil servants “won’t get one”, in reference to a four-day week.

Asked why not, she told Times Radio: “Because we’re not living in the 1970s.”

Ms Reynolds added that she did not believe a four-day week for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) staff would save £21.4m a year.

Responding to the government’s comments, PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote added:

“The government’s knee-jerk response is disappointing, especially as they ignore the evidence in front of them that a four-day week can lead to real gains, including financial savings, for employers and workers.

Enlightened businesses are increasingly adopting the four-day-week for their staff because can see the benefits. The government should not close its mind just because the right-wing press has.”

The IER has published a report on the redistribution of working time, by Prof Phil Taylor of Strathclyde University and supported by the Alex Ferry Foundation, dealing with many of these issues. You can access it here.