UK Workers' Rights To Four-day Week Could Be Strengthened

The UK government is considering plans to strengthen workers' rights to request a four-day workweek as part of efforts to promote flexible working.

Under the four-day week concept, employees would work 10-hour days over four days instead of eight-hour days over five.

Under these proposals, employees would still be required to work their full hours to receive full pay but could compress their working hours into fewer days, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Since April 2024, workers have had the right to request flexible working from the moment they begin a new job, though employers are not required to agree.

The government has emphasized that the proposed changes will not be forced on employees or businesses, although some businesses remain cautious about the plans.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: “Changes to employment legislation will be consulted on, working in partnership with business.”

Education Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith told LBC that “flexible working is actually good for productivity.”

She explained that under the four-day week concept, employees would work 10-hour days over four days instead of eight-hour days over five.

"You're still doing the same amount of work, but in a way that might reduce childcare needs or allow for more time with family, which could encourage more people into the workplace," Smith said, according to a report from BBC News.