Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a working time council to explore the wider implementation of a four-day working across the economy.

A four-day week is an example of a flexible working arrangement. All employees have the right to request flexible working, and we are changing legislation through the Employment Rights Bill to make it more likely that feasible requests are accepted.

The government continues to monitor the impacts of flexible working. As the full results of the latest four-day week trial have not yet been published, it has not been possible to determine any implications for business productivity or government policy.

Employers considering changes in working practices can draw on flexible working guidance on gov.uk and the Help to Grow website, as well as the new Business Growth Service which will launch shortly.

As we have no plans to mandate a four-day week, government is not planning to establish a working time council or business forum focussed on this topic. Our priority is to consult with and support businesses and employees with the planned changes to the flexible working measures as part of the wider Plan to Make Work Pay.