No Four-Day Working Week For Public Sector Staff

Tuesday, 1 February 2022 at 13:30

The Chief Minister says a four-day working week for public sector workers in Jersey is not being considered.

Deputy Louise Doublet asked whether the States Employment Board is thinking of trialling it.

But Senator John Le Fondre says they're instead promoting a team approach to flexibility which finds a balance between organisational and individual needs.

"The breadth of services delivered by the Government of Jersey means that flexibility looks very different depending on the service and role a person is working in. A 4-day working week would not be appropriate for many of our service areas.

The Government of Jersey is currently running a number of pilots to trial an approach which considers flexibility around where, when or how many hours people work. Early indications are positive with the first pilot reporting that 79% of employees who responded to the survey felt that their wellbeing had improved as a result of increased flexibility and 82% reporting that they felt productivity and efficiency had increased or stayed the same as a result of the changes in working practices.

When all pilots have been completed findings will be collated and learnings used to help the organisation embed this approach further."

A trial of a four-day week was launched in the UK at the start of this year to see if doing so can boost productivity.

The pilot will start in June, with around 30 firms due to sign up for it.