Home » HR practices » Professional development » Legal developments » National legislation » Great Britain: Labour party commits to implementing a 4-day working week should it win a general election Great Britain: Labour party commits to implementing a 4-day working week should it win a general election Through . Published on 25 September 2019 à 12h45 - Update on 25 September 2019 à 11h56 Resources During the annual Labour Party conference that comes to a close on 25 September, Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell stated, “the next Labour government will put in place the changes needed to reduce average full-time hours to 32 a week within the next decade. A shorter working week with no loss of pay.” UK workers currently work an average of 42.5 hours per week. Working 32 hours would be the equivalent of a 4-day week, but how the working hours would be arranged could differ per company. Warmly welcomed by the trade unions, this statement, like others, comes at a time of potential early legislative elections, and has all the hallmarks of an election campaign pledge (c.f. article No. 11354). In contrast, business leaders were aghast, with CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn warning, “without productivity gains it would push many businesses into loss.” Employers are similarly upset over Labour’s wish to eliminate the UK’s derogation from the European Working Time Directive, which restricts average weekly working hours to 48. Employers are relieved that UK employees can nonetheless decide to exempt themselves because they argue the derogation is necessary for maintaining labor market flexibility. Need more info ? Contact mind's on-demand study service Which service do you want to contact :WritingCommercial serviceTechnical SupportFirst name Last name Organization Function email* Object of the message Your messagePhoneThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Essentials Les dernières publications Supporting parenthood in the workplace: a win-win strategy Supporting employee carers: a CSR challenge Analyzes Les dernières publications Paternity leave: data observations from 41 countries EU: during H1 2022 five EU Member States have raised their minimum salary levels