On a sunny afternoon in leafy Cambourne, the largest town in south Cambridgeshire, the streets are relatively empty with the exception of the occasional dog walker or parent pushing a pram.
But this quiet town with its newly built homes has become the centre of a clash between the local South Cambridgeshire district council and a government minister.
The Liberal Democrat-run council has been trialling a four-day week since January. In practice, this means that employees will complete 100% of their workload in 80% of the time for 100% of their pay.
But last week the local government minister, Lee Rowley, wrote to the council leader, Bridget Smith, to “ask that you end your experiment immediately”, saying he had concerns about “value for money” for local taxpayers.
In Cambourne, which has a population of 12,350 people according to the 2021 census, some residents were unaware of the trial and if they did know it was happening, said it had had no impact on the services the council was providing or their lives.
Darren Hudson-Stryder, in the town centre with his wife, Tash, about to embark on a fishing trip in one of the local lakes in Cambridgeshire, is a former employee of SCDC. He believes the four-day week trial should be introduced across the public sector as it will help with staff retention.
He says: “I’ve worked for quite a few local authorities and they do struggle with retention because they can’t offer extra perks to the job like free dinners, etc, so they need to start thinking about things like flexible working hours to draw in recruits.
“When I worked at South Cambridgeshire district council, there was a real disparity between the workforce. They were either ‘lifers’ or ‘short-termers’, there was nobody in the middle, and that cannot be good for an organisation. I saw quite a few young people coming in and they rarely stuck around.”
He adds: “When I worked at a city council, I negotiated a better working pattern for myself. I would work a couple of hours extra each week and have a four-day week every two weeks, which I found very beneficial. The council should be setting an example for other people.”
Tash says: “I have ADHD, so keeping any job let alone a 9-5, five days a week role is really difficult for me. Doing part-time or reduced hours works much better for me personally.”
She adds: “Personally, I have noticed no difference with the services the council offers. Services in general, could be better, like for example, the social care they offer. But they should increase the quality across the board whether it’s a four-day or a five-day week.”
Darren adds: “It is more of a waste of taxpayers’ money for the government to be writing to the council; it is particularly on brand for this Conservative government as we all know what they think of local authorities. I am in favour of the four-day week and we both support it.”
Outside a local pharmacy, Edna and Ken Cox stop to speak as they run their midweek errands. Edna Cox, who is retired, believes that the four-day week does not allow enough time for employees to complete their work.
“Having come from an older age group, I don’t think you can do what you need to do in reduced working hours,” she says. “Back in my day, I was in charge of an office and we could not have done the work we did in four days. Our workload involved phone calls, chasing people, etc. So no, I don’t believe in a four-day week.”
Ken says: “I worked bloody hard. There was no way I could have done the job in four days. There were some days where I used to leave at 6am and return at 10pm just to get the job done.
He adds: “It is all rubbish, if they honestly think they can do a five-day week in four days, they could always be sensible and still let the employees work for five days and then get rid of half of them. You can’t have it both ways – either have a five-day job, or you’ve got too many people.”
Amy Sarmiento, a local domiciliary care worker, speaking outside a supermarket during her lunch break, had not heard that the council was trialling a four-day week but had not noticed any difference in the way the council ran its services, nor had it affected her.
However, she believes that the four-day week needs to be explored further before any concrete conclusions are drawn.
“The plan is quite good if you think about it in terms of leisure and relaxation, but it depends on which area you work in,” she says. “We work in domiciliary care so when client turnover is stable and not too heavy then perhaps a four-day week could work, but it depends on the flow of the patients coming in and their specific needs.
“We work with clients out in the field but we also have a lot of paperwork. And even if it is possible to cram that into four days, you still have to look after your staff and ensure that your training is up to date as well as staff meetings, supervision, etc.
“It is a good idea and it is beneficial for the employee’s wellbeing but it needs to be assessed in all sectors.”
