Town hall bosses urged not to offer four-day work weeks to staff, as ‘successes’ of Cambridgeshire trial marred by longer processing times
- South Cambridgeshire District Council has been trialling a four-day week
Council bosses have been urged to rule out introducing four-day weeks for staff amid concerns that such measures short-change the public.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has written to all town hall bosses in England asking them to sign a pledge not to implement the shorter working week.
It comes after the trial of such a scheme by South Cambridgeshire District Council which began in January.
The authority insisted an initial three-month pilot was a success despite officials taking longer to answer phones and process housing benefit claims.
The TPA’s John O’Connell said: ‘Residents are rightly worried that a part-time council could be coming to their town hall.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance wrote to all council bosses in England asking them to pledge not to implement a four-day working week – after a trial of a scheme by South Cambridgeshire District Council (South Cambridgeshire District Council headquarters pictured)
The TaxPayers’ Alliance (pictured TPA’s John O’Connell) claimed that residents are ‘rightly worried that a part-time council could be coming to their town hall’
‘As we’ve seen, this experiment leads to poorer services, with taxpayers picking up the tab.
READ MORE: COUNCIL’S FOUR-DAY WEEK SPREADS TO NEIGHBOURING LOCAL AUTHORITY
‘We hope council leaders will show their commitment to delivering value for money for ratepayers by signing our pledge.’
The organisation said it received a handful of replies – both for and against the pledge – within hours of sending its letter yesterday.
Fareham Borough Council leader Sean Woodward, who has signed up to the pledge, said: ‘The council is there to serve its residents.
‘It would not be acceptable for our residents to have that service reduced by 20 per cent to four days a week.’
The South Cambridgeshire trial prompted local government minister Lee Rowley to warn that giving staff an extra day off with no loss of pay was unlikely to provide value for money.
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