Today's Edition
London (PA Media/dpa)
The British government has denied it will force businesses to allow staff to work a four-day week but said it supports flexible working.
Education Minister Jacqui Smith dismissed a report in The Telegraph that Labour's Make Work Pay plans could force businesses to accept employees' demands for a four-day week.
She told LBC radio: "We think that flexible working is actually good for productivity. The four-day week that I know is on the front of quite a lot of newspapers today, what we're actually talking about there is the type of flexible working that enables you to use compressed hours.
"So perhaps instead of working eight hours a day for five days, you work 10 hours a day for four days.
"You're still doing the same amount of work, but perhaps you're doing it in a way that enables you, for example, to need less childcare, to spend more time with your family, to do other things, that encourages more people into the workplace."
The Telegraph reported "compressed hours" could feature in a new law which could shift the balance of power, so companies would be legally obliged to offer flexible working from day one except where it is "not reasonably feasible."
Conservative shadow business secretary Kevin Hollinrake claimed businesses are "petrified" about Labour's Make Work Pay plans. But a Department for Business and Trade spokesperson denied they would "impose" the working pattern on businesses.
The PA news agency understands any plan to open up "compressed hours" to more workers would not result in bank holiday-style weekends each week, and that employees would usually need to work their contracted hours, even if they choose to over fewer days.
The Whitehall spokesperson said: "We have no plans to impose a four-day working week on employers or employees. Any changes to employment legislation will be consulted on, working in partnership with business.
"Our Make Work Pay plan is designed around increasing productivity and creating the right conditions for businesses to support sustained economic growth. Many employers already provide good, family-friendly conditions for their workers because they know that doing so improves morale and retention.
"We are working in close partnership with business and civil society to find the balance between improving workers' rights while supporting the brilliant businesses that pay people's wages."
Plan To Make Work Pay
The Department for Business and Trade vowed to set out further details of its approach within 100 days. Labour released a document titled Labour's Plan To Make Work Pay in May.
It did not propose a four-day week but committed the party to banning zero-hour contracts, replacing them with documents which reflect the number of hours an employee regularly works. It also proposed a "genuine living wage," and an end to "fire and rehire" practices where workers are laid off and then re-employed on
new terms.
