Councils in Lincolnshire have rejected a four-day working week after the Conservative government called for an end to a Liberal Democrat-run council trial recently.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities instructed councils to halt any four-day working week trials immediately and cautioned authorities against planning such trials in the future.
South Holland District Council and Lincolnshire County both say there’s no plans for it to trial a four-day week.
The Liberal Democrat-led South Cambridgeshire District Council, believed to be the only English authority to have proceeded with plans, stated that the proposals had already resulted in more than £500,000 savings on agency workers and enhanced recruitment.
But the government argued that removing 20 per cent of a local authority’s capacity did “not offer value for money for residents”.
Minister for local government Lee Rowley said: “The government is being crystal clear that it does not support the adoption of the four-day working week within the local government sector.
“Local authorities that are considering adopting it should not do so. Those who have adopted it already should end those practices immediately.
“Those councils who continue to disregard this guidance are now on notice that the government will take necessary steps in the coming months ahead to ensure that this practice is ended within local government.”
The South East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership, which includes Boston, South Holland, and East Lindsey, confirmed they had not participated in any four-day working week trial.
Lincolnshire County Council leader, Coun Martin Hill (Conservative), had previously stated that the model was unsuitable for the authority, stressing the significance of staff availability throughout the entire working week.
He said: “This is not a policy we will be pursuing. It is important that our staff are in work to serve the public during the whole of the working week, and a four-day week will mean a reduction of 20 per cent of output.”
South Cambridgeshire District Council clarified that the council’s offices remained open five days a week.
The authority maintained or improved performance, with no area falling below acceptable standards. They highlighted that the new work pattern had facilitated the filling of hard-to-recruit positions, saved money by reducing the reliance on agency staff, and noted that since January, sickness rates had dropped by a third, staff turnover decreased by 36 per cent, and service complaints were down.
