United Kingdom: PwC extends summer working hours policy

From 1 June to 31 August this year, the 22,000 UK employees of auditing and consulting giant PwC will be able to finish their working week at lunchtime every Friday. The move announced on 4 May marks an extension of the so-called “summer working hours” scheme, which was trialled in July and August last year (see article n°12455), and proved to be a huge success. “We knew summer working hours would be popular with our people, but the positive impact on wellbeing surpassed expectations,” says Kevin Ellis, chairman and senior partner at PwC UK. An internal survey of 6,000 staff members indicates that 90% thought the summer working hours policy was a good idea, while almost 75% of respondents said it allowed them to spend more time with family and friends. “Not everyone could take every Friday, but they benefited from less email traffic when they did and a chance to switch off properly,” Ellis continues. It should be noted that the precise time of the early departure on Friday has not been fixed by PwC, as under the hybrid work programme adopted by the company each employee manages the breakdown of their working time individually and cannot leave before their tasks have been completed. When contacted by Planet Labor, PwC said it is yet to be confirmed whether this summer policy will continue.