Staff more productive in four-day week, says Wigan firm boss

Boss Kate Hulley said four 10-hour days per week gave employees "more quality time with family"

A packaging firm that moved to a four-day work week has made staff more productive, its boss has said.

Owners at Belmont Packaging, a business that makes boxes for Asda and Tesco in Wigan, changed its rotas after a trial's "roaring success" in 2021.

It comes as a scheme involving about 3,000 workers found the hours made staff happier and healthier.

Boss Kate Hulley said four 10-hour days per week gave employees "more quality time with family".

Ms Hulley said there was initially "huge suspicion" from staff about the change, but it soon proved to be successful with all 31 of her colleagues.

She said: "The staff have been able to spend more quality time with their families and they're ready to start back on Monday after a three-day weekend."

Stacey Galloway works at the site in Hindley Green, she said: "Before we went to the four day week, my weekends were spent washing, cooking cleaning, ironing... but now on a Friday I can do all that while the kids are at school."

Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, an employment standards organisation, said more companies should follow suit.

It said it had seen large companies who had "had enough of flexible working", when the employers "really do need to think about how they mould their employment offer to the changing world of work".

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