The leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council has accused the Conservatives of "clutching at straws", after they claimed the Lib Dem administration did not have a business case for their four-day week trial.
In January 2023, the Lib Dems introduced a trial four-day working week on five days' pay for desk-based council staff, which is due to last until March this year.
Now the Conservative opposition is arguing that no business case has been done to measure the cost, and that £3 million a year is spent in salary costs to run the four-day week for 470 staff members.
Cllr Heather Williams, leader of the South Cambs Conservatives, said: "This is yet another alarming discovery about how the Lib Dems are deciding to spend residents’ money.
"A decision like this needs a business case. Everything that the council does costs money. It’s no wonder we have been served with a Best Value Notice given the council is making such fundamental changes without even looking at how much it costs.
"The fact that the entire four-day week trial was decided based on a seven-page report is honestly sickening.
"This is reckless, irresponsible and makes us fear what else is going on without proper consideration.
"I have been waiting months to see a business case for the four-day week, that I now find out doesn’t even exist.
"How can it be that decisions are made without considering the financial cost to residents? This is why a business case should have been done."
However the leader of South Cambs District Council Cllr Bridget Smith has accused the Conservatives of "clutching at straws" and being "purposefully misleading".
She said: "They have failed to understand that the whole point of running a trial is to provide the evidence to produce a robust business case on which to base a final decision about whether or not to become a '4 Day Week Employer'.
"Their suggestion that there has been no consideration of the business case for the trial fundamentally misrepresents the decision-making processes that have occurred.
"Prior to the initial trial, as outlined in the September 2022 report, there was extensive consideration of the practical and financial implications of undertaking a trial.
"That work took place over an approximately three-month period before the initial trial was started.
READ MORE
- Town council seeks new operators for Royston Picture Palace
- King James Academy Royston senior site closed due to storm damage
"The figure of £3 million cited by the Conservatives appears to have come out of nowhere, we are keen to hear from them how they have calculated this figure which seemingly has no basis in reality.
"Staff, correctly, receive five days’ worth of pay for completing five days’ worth of work. The idea that 'hours sat behind a desk' is the be-all-and-end-all measure of productivity is antiquated and demonstrates that the Conservatives’ opposition to the trial is based in ideology rather than the best interests of South Cambs residents."
Cllr Smith emphasised that Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) throughout the trial show that council services have not been negatively impacted, and that it would be "improper" to prejudge the outcome of the trial before its conclusion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here