Australian company launches 4-day week
AN AUSTRALIAN company has become the first to offer a four-day full-pay working week as part of its EBA after a landmark report recommended reforms to boost the quality of life.
On Thursday, Oxfam Australia, a non-profit aid and development organisation, revealed employees had been offered to trial a four-day working week in a bargaining agreement staff will soon vote on. The company is the first in Australia to offer the arrangement in a six-month trial after a senate inquiry proposed sweeping changes to the workforce, the Australian Services Union says.
Oxfam Australia’s 97 fulltime employees can opt-into the arrangement without sacrificing pay.
Full-time hours will be reduced from 35 to 30, while 37 part-time employees will have hours and pay “pro-rated”, the company said.
The move comes after negotiations with the Australian Services Union, who heralded the decision as a “win-win for Oxfam and its staff”.
“It is pleasing to see Oxfam publicly recognising that productivity comes in different forms and that work-life balance is essential for workers’ mental and physical health,” ASU Victorian private sector branch secretary Imogen Sturni said.
“The rigid Monday-to-Friday, five-day working week is a thing of the past and no longer serves the modern workplace or its employees, particularly workers with caring responsibilities.”
The prospect of a four-day working week has been gaining traction in recent years, with a UK trial of 3300 employees finding benefits in stress and productivity.
Ms Sturni said the results were “enlightening”, with some businesses reporting their financial performance improved as well as increased staff retention. Earlier this month, the Australian senate’s select committee on work and care released a landmark report making the case for a four-day week.
The report recommended the Albanese government trial the 100:80:100 model, where employees would continue to receive a full-time wage and maintain productivity despite working 80 per cent of the week.
The Oxfam Australia proposal is included in a new enterprise bargaining agreement set to go to a vote between March 31 and April 4.
The six-month trial, if approved, will be reviewed periodically to assess if it maintains productivity levels, employees’ mental and physical wellbeing and improves work-life balance.
Ms Sturni said the union was looking forward to the outcomes of the trial.
“It’s time to change the way we work,” she said.