Charity employees could be among the leading beneficiaries as nationwide pressure builds to switch to a four-day working week, experts say.
A joint manifesto has been launched today, setting out a series of demands to make the transition from the current maximum working weekly hours of 48 to 32 by 2030
The manifesto, launched by Autonomy, New Economics Foundation and Common Wealth, follows the 4 Day Week Campaign in pushing for the policies needed to bring change.
Speaking to Civil Society, 4 Day Week Campaign director Joe Ryle said it could be crucial for the charity sector, which was prone to “a creeping culture of burnout”.
He said: “I think that charities and NGOs would be a lot more effective if they had a better work-life balance, living a better life in that way. It’s really important for the sector that they take a four-day week seriously.”
From June to September last year, seven charities were among 61 organisations which took part in a four-day week pilot in the UK.
The manifesto is calling for a bill to amend the Working Time Regulations 1998.
It says the bill should include “a clause to ensure any work beyond 32 hours is paid at an overtime rate of 1.5 times a worker’s ordinary pay”.
It adds that the government should: “Amend official flexible working guidance to include the right for workers to request a four-day, 32-hour working week with no loss of pay.”
It also calls for a £100m fund to support companies moving to a shorter week, a fully-funded pilot scheme in the public sector, and the establishment of a working time council of trade unions, industry leaders and business leaders to co-ordinate policy and implementation.
The foreword to the manifesto said: “Numerous studies and pilots from across the world have shown that moving to a four-day working week with no loss of pay is a win-win for workers and employers, with improvements in both wellbeing and productivity.
“A four-day week also benefits society in general. Shifting the economy to a 32-hour working week with no loss of pay could shrink the UK’s carbon footprint by up to 127 million tonnes per year.”
Labour MP Peter Dowd, whio tabled a bill to amend the Working Time Regulations 1998, said of the manifesto: “With the rollout of artificial intelligence on the horizon, a shorter working week is looking more and more inevitable.
“Greater productivity in the economy as a result of new technology must be passed back to workers in more free leisure time. A four-day week is the future of work and I urge my party to back these policies.”