Four-day weeks are racist, says Wales report
Inequalities between office staff and those who work 24/7 would be increased by the policy, warn experts
FOUR-DAY weeks could be racist because they discriminate against “front-line” public sector workers, a Welsh government report has said.
Public sector staff in Wales should have working hours slashed by 20 per cent with no loss of pay in a trial scheme, a year-long consultation found.
It said that artificial intelligence (AI) had the potential to reduce workloads and allow staff to avoid burnout, but admitted a four-day week may widen “existing inequalities” between office workers and those on the front line.
The report suggested that a shorter working week may effectively be discriminatory against ethnic groups in public sector workforces that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. White-collar workers, meanwhile, would stand to benefit more.
It said: “The risk of widening existing inequalities between groups of workers… Given the different gender, race and other characteristics of different workforces in the public sector, there is potential for negative and differential impacts on particular protected characteristics.”
The report did not give examples of the types of workers who would be negatively impacted.
The consultation, made up from a working group of senior Welsh government civil servants and public sector bosses, also highlighted other drawbacks of a four-day week.
One unnamed member of the group reportedly said that allowing workers to have an extra day off would require them to hire an additional 179 staff on full-time equivalent contracts to maintain the same levels of service.
Costs faced by workers having more leisure activities on their additional day off, as well as the impact on energy bills of having to heat homes during time normally spent at work, were also put forward as risks that a four-day week would need to address.
The consultation viewed that the benefits of a four-day week could include increased productivity, a better work-life balance and improved retentionand hiring of staff.
The report spoke approvingly of a four-day week trial in Iceland involving 2,500 workers that yielded unexpected benefits, including “men in heterosexual partnerships taking on greater domestic responsibilities”.
It recommended the Welsh government begin a trial of a four-day week for public sector jobs where it can be introduced without recruiting more staff. It is not clear when or if the trial will go ahead.
Humza Yousaf launched a four-day week trial in Scotland last year.
The SNP pilot followed another four-day week trial at South Cambridgeshire district council in 2022. The local authority is continuing with the new working week despite the Government repeatedly ordering it to stop after concerns taxpayers are not receiving best value for money from council services.
Andrew Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, called on the Welsh government to distance itself from the proposals to introduce a four-day week pilot.
He said: “Plans for a four-day week in the public sector should be dropped, and services for users should be prioritised instead.
“Pushing forward with this project, which has failed elsewhere, would be the wrong decision from this Labour Welsh government. Taxpayers in Wales are paying for these services and their interests should be considered when it comes to public sector working conditions,” he added.
A four-day working week “means no loss of pay or benefits, combined with a 20 per cent reduction to normal contracted hours, while maintaining current levels of service delivery” according to the Welsh government’s official definition.
A Welsh government spokesman said: “There are no plans to introduce a four-day week across the public sector in Wales.
“While the working group identified a range of potential benefits, they also highlighted the many complexities involved in adopting a four-day week and the impact these could have on a range of groups and individuals.”