Derbyshire family firm boosted by four-day week for staff

Managing director Laura Clarke took over the business from her mother

A family-run firm says it has increased its output, partly thanks to a switch to a four-day working week.

Chilwell Products, based in Stanton by Dale, Derbyshire - which manufactures scaffold board end bands - said it had seen a 12% increase in volumes over the past year.

It said it had made Friday a permanent day off, while staff retained full pay.

"Working 39 hours per week... is now a thing of the past," managing director Laura Clarke said.

'New opportunities'

Ms Clarke, 30, who is the granddaughter of the company's founder Derrick Telford, said she was a firm believer in work-rest balance.

She took on the business from her mother Lorraine Clarke in 2019 and said she had written into employee contracts they would not have to work on Fridays or weekends.

Salaries, she said, were remaining the same, despite staff working five hours fewer every week.

"We've made the changes, helping us increase turnover and giving us the chance to go after new opportunities," she said.

Staff at the firm have been told they will not have to work weekends or Fridays

She said the firm had invested nearly £100,000 in new technology, which had helped drive the upturn over the past 12 months.

The Chartered Institute of Professional Development has previously told the BBC that moves to reduce working hours without compromising pay were "undoubtedly positive".

However, they said such steps needed to be supported by other changes to ensure they did not result in employee stress.

Martin McTague, national chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "When it comes to implementing a four-day week, it's up to individual firms to install working arrangements that work best for them and their staff.

"It may be that some employees want to spread out their work over five days, feeling they would be more productive, while others may prefer to get their work done in fewer working days. Clearly it would not suit all sectors."