Considering a Four-Day Working Week? Here’s How to Consult Your Staff the Right Way

In recent years, the concept of a four-day working week has gained traction across various industries, with businesses exploring ways to boost productivity, improve staff wellbeing, and enhance work–life balance. While the benefits can be significant, transitioning to a four-day working week is not simply a scheduling change—it is a fundamental alteration to working arrangements that must be approached carefully, especially from an employment law perspective.

Why Consider a Four-Day Week?

Employers across the globe are reporting increased employee satisfaction, reduced absenteeism, and sustained (or even improved) productivity as outcomes of a four-day week. From a recruitment and retention perspective, it can also serve as a valuable point of differentiation in a competitive labour market.

However, success depends on how well the change is managed—and at the heart of this lies proper consultation with staff.

Legal Considerations: Don’t Skip Consultation

In most cases, an employee’s working days and hours are defined in their employment agreement. Moving to a four-day week—whether by reducing hours or compressing full-time hours into fewer days—usually constitutes a variation to the terms and conditions of employment.

This means:

• You must not unilaterally impose the change.

• You must consult with affected staff before implementing any variation.

• You must ensure any proposed change is fair, reasonable, and genuinely considered.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Consultation

1. Prepare a Clear Proposal Before engaging staff, develop a clear, written proposal outlining the suggested change. Include the rationale (e.g. business performance, wellbeing goals), the intended benefits, and how the new arrangement would work in practice.

2. Identify Affected Staff Determine which employees would be impacted. Is this change across the entire organisation or limited to certain departments or roles?

3. Initiate Consultation Provide the proposal to all affected employees and invite their feedback. Ensure staff understand:

• What is being proposed

• Why the change is being considered

• That no final decision has been made

• That their views will be genuinely considered before any outcome is confirmed

This step is a legal requirement and demonstrates procedural fairness.

4. Hold Individual and/or Group Meetings Offer employees the opportunity to discuss the proposal in more detail, raise concerns, and suggest alternatives. Be prepared for a range of responses—some employees may embrace the change, while others may have concerns about workload, pay, or personal commitments.

5. Consider Feedback and Adjust Where Appropriate Following consultation, assess all feedback and consider whether adjustments to the proposal are necessary. If changes are made, a second round of consultation may be required.

6. Confirm the Outcome in Writing Once a decision is made, communicate it in writing and ensure any variations to the employment agreement are mutually agreed and signed. This includes any amendments to hours, pay, leave entitlements, or days of work.

Additional Tips

• Trial Periods: Consider implementing the four-day week on a trial basis (e.g. 3–6 months), with clear review points and success measures.

• Workload Planning: Ensure workloads are manageable and performance expectations are realistic under the new structure.

• Equity and Inclusion: Ensure changes are applied fairly and do not disadvantage certain groups of employees.

  
  

Final Thoughts

Transitioning to a four-day week can be a progressive and beneficial move for many organisations, but it must be handled with care. Transparent, lawful consultation is not only a legal requirement—it is also critical for building trust and buy-in from staff. By approaching the process collaboratively and professionally, businesses can create sustainable, employee-centred working arrangements that support long-term success.

Need Advice?If you're considering introducing a four-day week and want to ensure compliance with employment law, consider seeking guidance from an employment law specialist or HR consultant experienced in organisational change.