Council considering a four-day week for staff

Labour-led Norwich City Council said any agreement would be "based on evidence"

A city council is considering introducing a four-day week for its staff which would see them significantly reduce their hours but remain on the same pay.

Labour-controlled Norwich City Council has agreed to look into the feasibility of trialling the scheme, which it is believed could improve staff wellbeing.

Critics have attacked the idea, saying it represents bad value for taxpayers.

Several private companies across the UK have been trialling four-day weeks, which involve staff receiving the same pay but for working one day less each week.

The concept is proving far more controversial when introduced in the public sector.

Norwich City Council agreed to consider introducing a four-day week after a motion by Green councillor Joshua Worley.

He said: "Sticking with the status quo is not a good enough reason to do anything any more, and it is quite clear that the 9-5, Monday to Friday working week simply does not work in the modern age.

"It is time that Norwich City Council proves itself as a forward-thinking organisation by putting the staff who run our fine city first, and taking steps to improve their working conditions for good."

The motion was passed without debate at a meeting on Tuesday.

A Labour amendment added that any change should be "based on evidence" and that the council would now examine how such a scheme could work.

'Mounting criticism'

David Simister-Thomas, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Norwich South, said voters would question why they were paying so much council tax.

The only council to implement the measure so far, South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC), is facing mounting criticism over the value for taxpayers' money.

Right-wing pressure group the Taxpayers' Alliance has described the South Cambridgeshire scheme as "the canary in the coalmine".

It warns that if the change was rolled out across the public sector it would cost taxpayers around £30bn a year in lost working time alone.

The group calculates the change would need a 14.4% rise in productivity to offset the lost hours.