On the surface, it appears to be a bold step. It responds to demands – intensified by the pandemic – for a new pattern of working that gives greater flexibility over working hours. And although this specific proposal focuses on compressing usual work hours into fewer days, it speaks to the advantages of shorter hours that have become a prominent part of campaigns for a four-day working week.
Yet, there are issues with the proposal. Specifically, it is limited in its ambition and inadequate as a mechanism for normalising a four-day working week.
In one sense, a right to request a four-day working week already exists in the UK. Under legislation enacted by the last government in April 2024, workers have the right to request flexible working from day one of their employment. How far the newly proposed right to request a four-day working week will change things remains uncertain.
Currently, workers must convince employers to grant them flexible working. Under the new proposal, it is claimed employers will need to give reasons for refusing a request. Placing the burden of proof on employers may then embolden more workers to request a four-day working week.
There remain problems, however. A “right to request” is not a “right to have” a four-day week and changes in legislation may still mean that many people keep working five days. Under current laws, employers can still resist the requests of workers, if they want to.
There is also the problem of unevenness in the effect of the law. While workers in well-paid jobs have bargaining leverage to assert their legal rights, others in lower-paid jobs face minimal protection and risk direct exploitation.
