Council ordered to halt controversial four-day week 'immediately' as minister's loaded letter warns it could break law

1 July 2023, 08:26 | Updated: 1 July 2023, 08:28

A council has been ordered to halt its use of a four-day working week 'immediately' after the year-long trial was criticised by government ministers who warned it could be breaking the law.

South Cambridgeshire District Council, which is a Lib Dem held seat, received the letter calling for an immediate halt to the controversial trial over concerns it did not offer taxpayers and residents value for money.

The trial, which sees a five-day working week reduced to four days with no loss of pay, was predicted to save the council £300,000 a year as a result of not needing to hire additional agency staff.

However, despite being hailed a success, the scheme saw longer waiting times for calls to be answered and the processing of benefit claims.

Among other reductions, the scheme is said to have seen some 131,000 households across South Cambridgeshire left without bin collections on Mondays as part of the trial.

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Penned my local government minister Mr Rowley, the North East Derbyshire MP's letter criticises the scheme and the benefits it poses to the public.

It's claimed the four-day week may also see the council breach its legal duties, as such working arrangement could impact the 'duty of best value' required under the Local Government Act 1999 according to Mr Rowley.

He also revealed that guidance is set to be issued to all English councils warning them against the implementation of the 4-day working week.

The letter, sent by My Rowley to Lib Dem councillor Bridget Smith, said: "I am writing to express my concerns regarding the extension of South Cambridgeshire's four-day working week trial until the end of March 2024 and to request formally that you end this experiment immediately.

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"As I am sure you are aware, all councils are expected to ensure that finite and valuable taxpayers' money is used in a way which demonstrates value for money – something which paying employees for an extra day of work that is not carried out is unlikely to demonstrate.

"I strongly believe in the ability of councils to innovate and find new ways to discharge their responsibilities – yet removing up to 20 per cent of the capacity to do those activities is not something which should be acceptable for a council seeking to demonstrate value for money for its taxpayers and residents."

He went on to acknowledged that private sector organisations were free to trial the experiment, however, he pointed out that local government should not follow suit.

The scheme began in the South Cambridgeshire district on a three-month trial basis in January for 450 desk-based staff and was extended for another 12 months due to its success, expanding to cover bin men and cleaners.

The council claims early results showed that services were not affected while staff were happier.

However, in May, South Cambridgeshire council boss Liz Watts was revealed to be working on a PhD thesis about four day working weeks, raising alarm bells of a possible conflict of interests.