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

Toxic member behaviour risks local government excellence

By Heather Jameson | 25 June 2026

Without stronger standards, intimidation of senior officers threatens recruitment, innovation and the high performance local government delivers, says Heathe...

PAY

Where is fiscal devo going and what is the agenda for Core Cities?

By Paul Marinko | 25 June 2026

Since the chancellor announced plans for devolved income tax the question appears to have happily moved away from ‘if’ to ‘when’. The MJ, Impower and Core Ci...

PAY

How a social enterprise built a winning workforce

By Rachel Law | 25 June 2026

Donna Hall and Rachel Law outline how PossAbilities shows that culture, leadership and person-centred innovation can improve staff retention, service quality...

PAY

LGR will succeed or fail on the frontline

By Charles Edwards | 24 June 2026

Reorganisation must protect frontline delivery, retain local knowledge and simplify services, says Charles Edwards – and success depends on supporting staff ...

Popular articles by William Eichler