Agenda item

Update of the Four-Day Week Trial

Decision:

Cabinet:

a) Agreed to continue with four-day week working arrangements for desk-based colleagues (pro rata for part time colleagues) until: (i) information was provided by the Government regarding potential future financial levers they might impose on Councils using this working practice, as announced in their Local Government Financial Settlement consultation in December 2023, and (ii) a subsequent consultation was carried out by the Council, analysed, and all trial data was presented to Full Council for a final decision.

b) Agreed to continue with four-day week working arrangements for the Waste service operational colleagues (the crews) (pro rata for part time colleagues) until: (i) information was provided by the Government regarding potential future financial levers they might impose on Councils using this working practice, as announced in their Local Government Financial Settlement consultation in December 2023, and (ii) a subsequent consultation was carried out by the Council, analysed, and all trial data was presented to Full Council for a final decision, noting that with a seasonal service, ideally a full year’s data was required.

c) Agreed to undertake a consultation on the four-day week, once the financial implications of the Government’s Local Government Financial Settlement consultation were confirmed and all implications of considering adoption of a four-day week permanently were understood.

d) Agreed that, for all colleagues working a four-day week (desk-based and waste operations), the hours were harmonised at 32 hours per week (pro rata for part time colleagues) at 86.5% of contracted hours from 1 April 2024.

e) Noted that the proposal to approve a continuation of a four-day week (pro rata for part time) working model for waste and desk-based colleagues post the end of March 2024, would also be brought to the Strategy and Resources Committee at Cambridge City Council on 25 March 2024, and that both Councils were required to support the decision for the services which were shared (Waste and Planning).

f) Agreed that an update report to Employment & Staffing Committee, Cabinet and Full Council and Cambridge City council committees, no later than the end of July 2024, would provide data on the trial periods (desk-based and waste), up until the end of March 2024, and information about the ongoing effectiveness, including recruitment and retention, costs and savings of a four-day week working model.

Minutes:

Councillor John Williams, Lead Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced the report and moved the recommendations. In so doing, he explained that the original intent when beginning the four-day week trial was to be considering the results of the trial shortly, with Full Council making a final decision on whether the adopt a four-day week in the Summer. This was no longer the case, as the Government had announced its intention to introduce financial penalties for authorities working under such arrangements. As it was felt that the Council could not properly consult on the introduction of a four-day week without including details of any financial implications, any final decision would need to wait until full details of any penalties were understood and included in a consultation. Councillor Williams further advised that a report would still be brought to Full Council in the Summer setting out the results of the trial.

It was commented that the purpose of the trial was to consider KPI performance, the health and wellbeing of staff, the number of applicants to advertised positions, retention levels, and savings. It was not an aim of the trial to save £1 million, which was an estimated figure of the cost of the Council’s hard to fill posts.

Finally, it was noted that the proposals included the harmonisation of working arrangements between waste services and desk-based staff to 32 hours per week.

The recommendations were seconded by Councillor Smith. Councillor Smith noted that full time was generally considered to be 35 hours, so the Council would be just short of this.

In response to questions from non-Cabinet Members, the following points were raised:

· It was advised that four waste collection vehicles had been purchased. Two of these were specifically due to the four-day week trial, however the other two were required to address growth generally.

· Recruitment and retention incentives had been stopped within the waste service in September 2023. These had been specifically to address the challenge of recruiting licensed drivers after the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the end of these incentives had not affected recruitment levels.

· Members were advised that market factor supplements were used in some services in addition to the salary scheme and was a way of recognising when a particular job market was challenging. If the market were to change, these could be reimplemented for other service areas.

· Comment was made in relation to the comparison of cost of agency workers and Council staff. It was noted that real costs were being compared, with agenda workers still operating five days a week.

· Regarding sickness reporting, it was acknowledged that sickness on non-working days were not being recorded. It was commented, however, that the sickness recorded was only that which was disrupting work.

· It was advised that nine out of ten of the originally identified hard to fill posts had been in the planning services, which was split 65/35 between South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council due to work around the local plan. This meant that savings from these posts were around £220,000 to £230,000.

· Members noted that other hard to fill posts had since been identified and filled since those originally set out when the trial began.

· It was commented that efforts had been made to fit the four-day week for the waste service into 30 hours, however it became apparent that 32 hours would be needed.

· It was noted that during discussions at the Scrutiny and Overview Committee in April 2023 it was acknowledged that the waste service and desk-based workers hours needed to be level.

· Members were advised that ‘golden handcuffs’ (a financial incentive to discourage new recruits from leaving) were available for use under the current evaluations scheme. Officers would confirm when the Council had begun using them.

Resolution

Cabinet:

Options Considered

As set out in the report.

Reasons for Decision

As set out in the report.

Supporting documents: