More Councils to trial 4 day week for 5 days pay

[mrsm43s]

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/green-party-four-day-working-week-lambeth-council-lewisham-hackney-b1299448.html

So what do you think about this? Apparently in South Cambs, the trial was successful leading to cost savings snd improved staff satisfaction, and is now a permanent arrangement.

Personally, I'm all for it, but must admit it's because I work for a local authority, and the more councils that adopt this, then the more likely I am to benefit from it in the future. That said, as a Council tax payer, I can understand people being upset at ever rising CT bills when staff are being handed a free day off a week.

And if you need another 52 days off above the 140 to 150 a year you are getting to avoid burn out on 7 to 8 hour days, there's a bigger problem.

No. Retired this year. Worked in local authorities and then public sector in Ireland.

Good point!

You see this is the BS that supports the fallacy.
South Cambridgeshire Distric Council don't have 'case loads' to transfer. They dont provide social or adult care services or child services. They don't have high training and professional development needs.
Their employee 'burn out risk' that requires another 52 days rest a year:
From their website:
Bin collection and recycling services
Council Tax and benefits
Planning and Building Control
Community sports and wellbeing
Cost of living support and advice
Environmental Care Services
Nature and sustainable living and action on climate change
Election Services and Information
And business and event licensing

What expensive Agency staff need to cover these services during high employee absence. There's few, if any Statutory Services there that are time critical as we wait for burnt out staff to return.
You can easily measure outputs on those and say nothing changed. How do we know if anything changed in the cost of living and advice service they provide. It will be numbers of contacts. Guess what? It is. Anyone measure if the cost of living service is now better, worse, or the same. Who knows. Who knows how to even measure it other than contact numbers.
The PS is fundamental different to the Private Sector and studies can not be transposed between them. The PS can, and does, manipulate it's 'performance' by a focus on outputs and not outcomes.
The above Services are valuable, don't get me wrong and I've been involved in these types of services myself and they have significant impacts for lical communities. But to say taking 20 percent of the time away from providing them will have no impact on the service provided, is just not true.