Research shows overwhelming public support for SNP pledge to pilot the introduction of a 4 day week
02 September 2021
The Scottish National Party (SNP) 2021 manifesto released in April committed to creating a £10 million fund to support companies in piloting a four-day working week. The move was met with overwhelming support this week, with research from Scotland’s Institute for Public Policy declaring that nine in ten people would be willing to take part in the scheme.
The pledge to trial a four day working week can be found within the “Fair Work” section of their latest manifesto, which describes the ambition to make Scotland “the best place to live, work, invest and do business”. The manifesto describes the shorter working pattern as a tool to “support people achieve a healthy work-life balance.”
Following the trial period, the SNP plan to use the subsequent learning to consider a more general shift towards a four day working week, however this commitment comes with a caveat - “as and when Scotland gains full control of employment rights”.
Scotland is not the first country to consider a four-day working week. A successful trial in Iceland which saw a shift to this alternative way of working was deemed a success, and many business across the UK are already using this as part of their flexible working tool kit.
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