Title

PAY

Council to trial four-day week

South Cambridgeshire DC is planning to begin a three-month trial of a four-day week to attract new staff.

South Cambridgeshire DC is planning to begin a three-month trial of a four-day week to attract new staff.

The council has struggled to fill all of its vacant positions. 

If senior councillors agree to the trial, which would take place between January and March, the council will closely monitor what impact it has on services for residents and businesses.

Research from Henley Business School, cited by the council, showed that organisations offering a four-day week benefit from an improved ability to attract and retain talent.

Council leader Bridget Smith said: ‘The trial would be all about seeing if a four-day week has the same positive impact on productivity, staff wellbeing and recruitment in local government, as seen elsewhere.

‘As a council we are leading the way on this; it could be truly ground-breaking for councils nationally.

'We only filled around half our vacancies during the first few months of this year and using temporary agency staff in these office roles costs us more than £2m a year.

'We know that if we instead filled those roles permanently it would only cost around £1m a year.'

PAY

Reed vows to stop those trying to pull country apart

By Dan Peters | 25 November 2025

Communities secretary Steve Reed has vowed to stop ‘people at the extremes of politics who are trying to divide our country and pull it apart’.

PAY

Lambeth to house more families out of area

By Paul Marinko | 24 November 2025

Lambeth LBC is proposing to house more people further out of the borough as housing pressures in London worsen.

PAY

If devolution is about identity, culture must be in the script

By Stephen Crocker | 24 November 2025

Culture must be part of the devolution playbook if the new Norfolk & Suffolk Combined Authority is to go the distance, argues Stephen Crocker.

PAY

How councils can increase SME apprenticeship uptake through strategic partnerships

24 November 2025

Local authorities can boost apprenticeship starts within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by forming innovative partnerships, a leading training pro...

Popular articles by William Eichler