Marvin OnumonuSouth Cambridgeshire District Council has voted to permanently move to a four-day week for staff after independent research found most council services improved or stayed the same, with better recruitment and retention.
Council staff will be expected to do all their work in about 80% of their contracted hours, with no pay cut.
Research from the Universities of Salford, Bradford and Cambridge tracked 24 council services.
The study found that performance in 21 of these 24 services got better or stayed the same since the four-day week started in 2023.
Significant improvements were seen in call answering, speed of benefit claim updates, householder planning application times, planning applications decided on time, urgent council house repairs and complaint response times.
Job applications rose by over 120% during the trial.
Before the change, only around eight in 10 jobs advertised were filled, sometimes as low as five in 10.
Staff turnover dropped by over 40%.
Additionally, the council saved £399,263 in a year, mainly by filling vacancies with permanent staff instead of agency workers.
More staff said they intend to stay, and mental and physical health and motivation improved.
Further research by the University of Cambridge found the four-day week benefited disabled colleagues, those with medical conditions and carers.
Nationally, Local Government Association (LGA) surveys showed satisfaction with local councils fell from 72% in 2012 to 56% in 2024.
South Cambridgeshire District Council is the employer for two shared services with Cambridge City Council: Greater Cambridge Shared Planning and Greater Cambridge shared waste.
Staff in these services have also been working a four-day week.
Cambridge City Council will consider whether to continue the four-day week for these services at its full council on 24th July.
Bridget Smith, leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “We’ve shown that well-rested staff, with the time to stay in good physical and mental health, are highly motivated to deliver the improvements that all of us in local government strive for.
“In a modern workplace like ours, where staff feel hugely valued, reducing working hours doesn’t mean compromising on quality.
“Work is not just sitting at a desk for a set number of hours every week; it’s about what you do, how productive you are and delivering excellent services for communities.”
Smith added: “When planned carefully and with a laser focus on performance, the four-day week helps people focus better and work more efficiently.
“With the right structure and support, teams can deliver just as much – if not more – while also having more time for their wellbeing and personal lives.
“South Cambridgeshire had particularly acute recruitment and retention challenges due to the high cost of housing locally. I strongly believe the four-day week has solved this problem for us.”
John Williams, lead cabinet member for resources at South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “Since we introduced the four-day week, the difference in recruitment and retention has been remarkable.
“We’ve seen job applications more than double, which means we’re attracting a much wider pool of talent.
“At the same time, fewer people are choosing to leave, helping us build more stable teams that deliver more consistent, quality services for residents and businesses.”
Williams added: “That’s not just good for staff – it’s good for residents and local businesses too. It means we’re not constantly re-training new people or relying on expensive agency workers.
“As a result, our services are more consistent and, in many cases, better, and we’re saving hundreds of thousands of pounds by reducing our dependence on agency staff.
“The four-day week is helping us be financially secure and fit for the future, delivering better value for money and services for residents.”
Cameron Holloway, leader of Cambridge City Council, said: “We’ve supported from the outset South Cambridgeshire’s progressive thinking on tackling the recruitment and retention crisis affecting councils up and down the country.
“Our primary obligation is to our residents, and so we’re delighted that the shared planning and waste services have continued to be delivered to a high standard throughout the four-day week, and that the Council has saved money in those services.
“The waste service as a whole makes nearly 800,000 collections per month and has maintained a success rate of 99.89%, while the planning service has improved in key metrics such as the time taken to decide planning applications.”
Holloway added: “I’m glad that Council workers – who, let’s not forget, are our neighbours, friends and family, as well as providing vital services to residents – have benefitted from a better work-life balance and have seen improvements in their health and wellbeing.
“Our councillors are looking forward to discussing the recommendation to support South Cambridgeshire’s decision to become a permanent four-day week Council at our forthcoming Full Council on 24 July.
“In the 21st century, with all the technological advantages of modern life, we should aspire to a society where people have a positive work-life balance and can live healthily and happily.
“We need forward-thinking organisations to pave the way for that to happen.”
Daiga Kamerāde, professor in work and wellbeing at the University of Salford, said: “In the industrial era, more hours usually meant more output.
“In today’s knowledge and service-based economy, growing evidence suggests many organisations now achieve more by working smarter, not longer.
“By making its four-day week permanent, South Cambridgeshire District Council becomes the UK’s first local authority – and joins more than 30 private and non-profit employers – to move from pilot to permanent practice after seeing productivity and staff wellbeing hold steady or improve.”
Kamerāde added: “For organisations struggling to recruit while service demand rises, a shorter week is increasingly viewed as one strategic option to attract and retain talent to ensure service delivery.
“Our independent evaluation – carried out by researchers from the Universities of Salford, Cambridge and Bradford – tracked 24 objective performance indicators.
“The methods are open and replicable, giving other councils a transparent template for evidence-based decisions and adding to the growing research that challenges the long-held belief that longer hours automatically mean better performance.”
She said: “The evidence indicates that smarter working can deliver equal, and in some cases better, results for residents, taxpayers and staff.
“We, the research team, will continue to expand our four-day week studies – analysing new data, publishing peer reviewed findings and feeding that evidence back into practice – because good science and practice evolve.”
