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Election candidates clash over four-day week policy

Emma HowgegoCambridgeshire political reporter
Sue Dougan/BBC 5 people stand in front of a sign which says BBC Radio CambridgeshireSue Dougan/BBC
The candidates took part in a debate on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

Disagreements over the introduction of a four-day working week at South Cambridgeshire District Council dominated a debate ahead of the May 7th elections.

It will be the first elections since the policy was introduced, and 45 council seats are up for grabs.

While the ruling Liberal Democrat leader, Bridget Smith, reiterated some of the successes in recruiting and retaining staff under the scheme, the current opposition leader, Heather Williams, said her party would abolish it.

Labour and Green Party candidates said they did not agree with the way it was introduced, but support flexible working. The Reform UK candidate said it would be too difficult to abolish, but residents disliked it.

Sue Dougan/BBC Bridget Smith stares at the camera. She is wearing a black jacket and has shoulder length dark hair. She stands in front of a sign that says BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. Sue Dougan/BBC
Bridget Smith's Liberal Democrat group introduced the four-day week policy

Smith and her party introduced the four-day week trial as part of efforts to improve recruitment and retention.

During the debate on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire's Chris Mann show, she said it had saved the council £400,000 each year, and the council is now "fully staffed."

In addition, she said the "planning service, which we share with Cambridge City, which was under enormous pressure and not doing as good a job as our residents would like, has now won an award for best authority in the country".

She also said they were "collecting 99.7% of bins on time" due to not needing agency staff.

Sue Dougan/BBC Heather Williams stares at the camera, she has long dark hair, wears a beige jacket and a black top. She is sitting in front of a radio studio. Sue Dougan/BBC
Conservative leader Heather Williams said she believed council tax would not need to go up if the four-day working week were abolished

Williams disagreed about the savings and said her party's analysis showed it cost the council an extra £270,000 on staffing costs and £244,000 extra on equipment.

She said her party would stop the four-day work week if they won control of the authority.

She explained there was a "three-month contract clause where notice can be given" to end the four-day week, and her party would "serve that straight away".

Sue Dougan/BBC Miranda Fyfe stares at the camera. She wears a green top and a 3 row necklace. She is sitting in an office style chair with a computer to the left Sue Dougan/BBC
Green Party candidate Miranda Fyfe supported flexible working, but not the way the four-day week has been introduced

Green Party candidate Fyfe said her party generally support the four-day week.

However, it did not agree with the way it was introduced in South Cambridgeshire.

"Offering flexibility to staff is great," she said. However, she thought it should be "four days work for four days pay".

The current system at the council sees staff work for 32 hours a week, but retain the same pay level they received when they worked 37.5 hours.

She believed that type of flexibility would be enough to attract more staff.

Martin Giles/BBC Duncan Bullivant wears a light blue shirt and green waistcoat. He stares at the camera and sits in front of a radio deskMartin Giles/BBC
Reform UK candidate Duncan Bullivant said stopping the four-day week would "create chaos"

Bullivant said the only people happy with the arrangements were "people in the council", and everyone else was confused about why it was brought in.

He believed some services have suffered because of it and claimed "response times are not what people want them to be".

Although he does not think the four-day week should continue, he said removing it would be challenging.

"It would be irresponsible for any party that says they will rip it up as it would create chaos."

Sue Dougan/BBC Elizabeth McWilliams stares at the camera. She wears a black and red stripe dress. She sits on a chair in front of a sign that says BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and a picture of King's College chapelSue Dougan/BBC
Labour candidate Elizabeth McWilliams said she supported work-life balance

McWilliams said she was "broadly in favour of this initiative" and supported improved workers' rights and better work-life balance.

She raised concerns that many of the arguments against the initiative were a "race to the bottom in terms of workers' rights".

However, she thought the current council administration had "lost the public's trust" with the way the trial was carried out and communicated to residents.

Elections to South Cambridgeshire District Council take place on Thursday 7 May, with results being counted the following day.

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