Charity that could bring in a four-day week for 800 staff

‘Massive rise in staff satisfaction’

THE weekend could start a day early for hundreds of employees at a major British charity.

Some 800 workers at the Wellcome Trust will be switched to a four-day week in the autumn – without losing pay – if managers approve the idea.

The medical research charity would become the first large employer to give staff at its London headquarters every Friday off.

The organisation is examining claims the move could improve the so-called work-life balance and give employees the chance to do volunteering work, learn new skills or just spend more time with their family.

Supporters of the idea also say it can improve productivity and reduce absenteeism among staff who will in turn concentrate harder and work longer hours.

Some small UK firms have already tried the scheme but Wellcome is the biggest employer so far to declare its interest. Bosses yesterday said they were considering the potential impact of the move on staff and the wider community, saying it could boost ‘welfare and productivity for everyone’ at the company.

Ed Whiting, Wellcome’s director of policy and chief of staff, said: ‘Like many organisations, Wellcome is continually looking at how we can increase the impact we make towards our charitable mission and improve staff well-being.’

Mr Whiting, a former Downing Street advisor to David Cameron, added: ‘It will be some months before we can consider a formal decision.’

However, Wellcome is said to be cautious over potential problems, including a possible lack of staff flexibility.

The four-day week was once common among British companies, where some groups of workers would typically put in four ten-hour days rather than five eight-hour shifts. The practice largely disappeared during the industrial upheavals of the 1980s.

A new Zealand insurance company, Perpetual Guardian, recently introduced the idea for it 240 employees and found a ‘massive increase in engagement and staff satisfaction... with no drop in productivity’.

An academic study of the results said stress levels among workers fell by 7 per cent while their satisfaction ratings rose by 5 per cent.