South Cambs: Four-day week trial risks financial penalties

The district council’s cabinet has agreed to continue the trial at a meeting this week (March 12) while it waits to hear from the government as to what the penalties could be.

Councillor John Williams (Liberal Democrat) lead cabinet member for finance and resources, said the authority had hoped to be in the position to hold a public consultation on the trial, but said the government threats had left them in “limbo”.

Cllr John Williams (Image: SCDC)

The four-day week trial for desk-based staff began at the start of 2023, before later expanding to include staff working in the waste collection service.

Under the trial staff receive full pay for working fewer hours, but are expected to complete all of their work in that time.

The district council began the trial to see if it would help the staff recruitment and retention problems it was facing, and has faced repeated backlash, both from opposition councillors and central government.

A Best Value Notice was issued by the government to the district council in November last year, which is a formal notification of the government’s concerns.

At the end of last year the government sent a letter to council leaders across the country stating it was considering using “levers” in its financial settlement to disincentive authorities from operating a four-day week.

Cllr Williams said this announcement of possible financial penalties meant the district council was not able to proceed with a public consultation as had been planned.

He said: “By the time we got to this point we were expecting to say that the results of the trial will be considered, a report will be produced, we will be going out to consultation, and then the full council would meet before the summer to make a decision.

“Unfortunately, the secretary of state had other ideas and at Christmas they said that any council with a four-day week would face some sort of financial penalty using some sort of financial levers.The administration at South Cambridgeshire District Council has defended the four-day working week trial (Image: SCDC)

“Until we know what those financial impacts are, we cannot go out and consult in any meaningful way.”

Cllr Williams said a report will still be produced looking at the results of the trial which will be presented at a full council meeting before the summer.

However, he said this is as far as the district council can go until it understands the financial implications of continuing the trial if there is a government penalty.

Councillor Heather Williams (Conservative), leader of the opposition group, raised some questions about the way the impacts of the trial were being measured.

Cllr Heather Williams (Image: SCDC)

One question she highlighted related to how the district council was measuring the amount of sick days people take.

SUGGESTED READING

• South Cambs proposing to continue four-day week despite Government funding threats
• Data released for South Cambridgeshire District Council's four-day week trial

She said if people were working 20 per cent less, she suggested there would be 20 per cent fewer sick days taken as people would not call in sick on their non-working day. Cllr Williams questioned why a 20 per cent allowance had not been considered.

Officers said if the number of sick days people took was the only measurement the authority was looking at to determine the impact then they said the issue raised by Cllr Williams should be considered.

However, they said there was also the employee health and wellbeing survey, which they said provided a “bigger picture”.