.svg)
UK councils have been warned they risk being declared failing authorities if they adopt a four-day working week for staff, according to reports.
The secretary of state for local government has written to all councils after around 25 authorities discussed the policy and South Cambridgeshire District Council moved ahead with its introduction. While councils can set their own employment practices, the government retains the power to intervene if an authority is judged to be underperforming.
In a letter seen by The Daily Telegraph, Steve Reed said that staff working fewer hours for full-time pay could be viewed as an indicator of failure. He said existing guidance on the four-day week remains in force and warned that “council staff undertaking part-time work for full-time pay without compelling justification” could raise serious concerns as part of wider performance assessments.
Reed said the government’s position was unambiguous and that further detail would be provided in updated best value guidance for local authorities. The guidance, last issued in 2024 under the Conservative government, is now being revised by Labour.
Earlier this year, Reed warned South Cambridgeshire that its four-day week had harmed service performance, citing declines in rent collection and housing repairs in a letter to the council’s Liberal Democrat leader, Bridget Smith.
Smith said she was extremely disappointed by the warning and insisted the council remained an exceptionally high-performing authority.
Supporters of the four-day week, including the 4 Day Week Foundation, argue that the traditional five-day working model is outdated. They say British workers put in some of the longest hours in Europe while productivity remains low, and that a 32-hour working week without a pay cut could improve efficiency and reduce costs.
