The Green Party has thrown its weight behind a four-day working week following a motion at their conference in Brighton.
Welcoming the decision by Party members to back the policy, Catherine Rowett, Green Party spokesperson on Work, Employment and Social Security, who proposed the motion, said:
“The UK has one of the highest working hours rates in Europe while having one of the least productive economies. The Green Party has today backed a policy of introducing a maximum 32 hour working week where workers have a right to request these reduced hours be worked over four rather than five days at no loss of pay.
“A recent trial of a four-day week with a range of organisations from diverse sectors and sizes [1] found that of the 61 companies that participated, 56 are continuing with the four-day week, with 18 confirming the policy is a permanent change.
“The trial found there was an improvement in employees’ well-being, an improvement in work-life balance and an increased ability to combine paid work with care responsibilities. For the businesses involved in the trial, revenue stayed broadly the same over the trial period while the number of staff leaving decreased significantly, dropping by 57% over the trial period.
“The evidence is clear. A four-day working week is good for business, good for workers, good for the climate because people will have to commute less, and it is now confirmed as Green Party policy.”
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Notes