Switching to a four-day week ‘could save councils £1bn a year’

Britain’s struggling local authorities could switch to a four-day week to unlock as much as £1 billion a year to revive hollowed-out services hit by years of austerity.

That’s the conclusion of a new report from the Autonomy Institute, the think tank behind the UK’s largest four-day week pilot to date. The campaigners argue that a shorter working week for the same pay is not just a lifestyle perk but a practical financial fix for councils on the brink.

At the centre of the debate is South Cambridgeshire District Council. After controversially trialling a four-day week in 2023, the council reported annual savings of £371,500 which amounts to roughly £500 per employee. The reasons for the significant saving includes less staff attrition and reliance on costly agency workers. 

A response to austerity

Local government has been under sustained pressure for over a decade. Since 2010, funding cuts have forced councils to scale back services with libraries and youth centres closing and leisure facilities being stripped back.

The Autonomy Institute’s analysis suggests the four-day week could help reverse some of that damage.

If rolled out across England’s remaining district councils, savings could reach £38 million a year, they claim. Expand that across all UK local authorities, and the figure climbs to around £1 billion.

Crucially, the research finds that South Cambridgeshire District Council is not an outlier. Its workforce size and prior reliance on agency staff are broadly in line with the average district council. The think tank believes this suggests these savings aren’t a one-off, but something many councils across the UK could realistically replicate.

Will Stronge, chief executive at the Autonomy Institute, said: “South Cambridgeshire shows that the four-day week is not a risky experiment or a luxury: it’s a practical tool for stabilising local government finances.

“At a time when councils are being reorganised and services are stretched to breaking point, this is a rare policy that improves working conditions and saves money. It’s time the UK government listens to evidence not ideology.”

Read more:

• The weekend turns 100 years old this year. It’s time it got an upgrade
• Here’s why it could be time to embrace the four-day week
• ‘We’re overdue an update:’ A four-day working week will be ‘the norm’ in five years, most Brits say

What council could do with four-day week savings

The savings generated by a four-day week could help reverse the sharp decline in public spending on libraries, the Autonomy Institute suggested. Spending has fallen by 47% in real terms between 2009 and 2023 across England, Wales and Scotland.

The think tank also suggested that these savings could be directed towards rebuilding culture and leisure services, where annual spending has dropped by £2.3bn in real terms since 2010 across England and Wales.

Supporters of the four-day week argue the benefits go beyond balance sheets.

They claim healthier, less stressed workers take fewer sick days, parents gain more time with their children and carers can better support elderly relatives. Adoption of the four-day week could even cut emissions with fewer commutes, meaning fewer cars on the road or demand for fuel while the uncertainty of the Middle East conflict continues.

Joe Ryle, campaign director of the 4 Day Week Foundation, said: “With £1 billion a year in savings forecast across local government, it would be illogical not to expand the number of four-day week council trials.

“As hundreds of companies in the private sector have already shown, a four-day week with no loss of pay can be a win-win for both workers and employers. 

“The nine-five, five-day week is a century-old model that no longer fits the way we live and work today.”

Political pushback against a four-day week

Despite this evidence, the idea has met resistance in Westminster and remains unproven at scale.

Steve Reed, the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, has criticised the model, suggesting it could signal failure rather than innovation.

Reed wrote to councils in December to warn others against adopting a reduced working week. 

That criticism comes at a time when the government is preparing a major overhaul of local government structures, including plans to replace two-tier council systems with new unitary authorities.

The Conservatives also clashed with South Cambridgeshire over the switch to a four–day week while in power.

The Tories’ shadow secretary of state Sir James Cleverly recently announced the party would introduce a ban on councils adopting a four-day week, describing it as “an insult”.

For critics, the concern is whether councils can maintain service levels with reduced hours. For advocates, the Lib-Dem-led South Cambridgeshire example suggests they can and sometimes even improve them. In that trial, 21 out of 24 key services either improved or stayed the same.

Maya Ellis, Labour MP for Ribble Valley said: “The benefits of a four-day week include an uplift in productivity thanks to healthier, happier employees who take fewer sick days and are more likely to stay in a role, which South Cambridgeshire District Council has proven to be the case.

“The knock-on effects of moving from the nine-five, five-day week also need taking into consideration, from the reduced carbon footprint from there being fewer cars on the road to the extra time to care for children and the elderly.

“For these reasons, I’d urge the government to be open-minded to the benefits of a four-day week and empower councils to be innovative when it comes to workforce flexibility, freeing up cash that could be spent on services.”

Campaigners say the evidence is building fast. 

Trials in the Scottish public sector have shown promising results, while unions are now pushing for similar arrangements in the civil service.

For them, the question is no longer whether it works, but why it isn’t being taken more seriously.

As councils face mounting financial pressure and communities continue to feel the impact of cuts, campaigners are now shifting away from a four-day week as a radical experiment, but as a potential lifeline instead.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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