Tai Pawb Pilots 4 Day Working Week

We’re piloting the four-day week from 1 April 2024! Tai Pawb will be embarking on a 12-month pilot of the four-day week (4DW), effective from 1 April 2024. We are looking forward to sharing our learning with members and stakeholders throughout the year.

Global trials and the successful implementation of a 4DW by hundreds of organisations has demonstrated increased staff well-being, maintaining or increasing productivity and performance, promotion of equality and has helped employers attract talent. As a small charity, this is a challenge we encounter from time-to-time, especially with project-funded roles.

What is the research saying?

The 4DW is based on a principle of 100 – 80 – 100: delivering 100% of the work, in 80% of the time, for 100% of salary. The concept is gaining ever-more support both here in the UK and internationally, with public, private and third sector organisations arranging trials and successfully implementing the policy.

The Future Generations Commissioner published a report in 2022 calling for four-day week to form part of Wales’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, as part of its work, the Petitions Committee in Senedd Cymru recommended that Welsh Government should support a targeted four-day week pilot with the Work Partnership Council. The Scottish Government is also currently piloting a four-day week.

Closer to home, we follow in the footsteps of Merthyr Valleys Homes, who took part in the global trial. So successful was the trial, that the policy was adopted permanently. Co-Production Network Wales, another of our member organisations, has also recently adopted the policy.

How might it affect our work with you?

The short answer is: it shouldn’t. Our pilot is based on well-developed principles:

No detrimental impact to any of our services, members, stakeholders and colleagues
No impact on colleagues’ pay, and that hours are not compressed – we continue to operate on outcomes
The pilot is co-designed with colleagues
Colleagues are clear that the long-term sustainability of the policy is dependent on the trial’s success

How will we ensure we continue to deliver for our members and stakeholders?

We have set up a robust framework for ensuring and monitoring our performance alongside the impact of the four-day week, recognising that any potential challenges are identified early. In practice, this means:

Engagement and feedback from member organisations
Regular colleague surveys based on measures developed by Boston University, the University College Dublin and Cambridge University (as part of the wider global trials)
Tracking both team and organisational performance through our existing KPIs, and individual performance through targets and one-to-ones
Continuous team reflection and dialogue

What if we identify issues?

The framework we have set out above will ensure that any potential challenges or pitfalls are identified early, mitigated and/or resolved, allowing us to continue delivering high-quality support across the range of our services. If, during the course of the trial, we decide that the four-day week is not working, we can terminate it with three months notice.

During the initial period, we are piloting all colleagues having the same day off – which will be a Friday. When making this decision, we engaged with other adopters of 4DW. We weighed up the potential impact of different days off on team-working and admin (and therefore on the pace of delivery), against the potential impact of having the same day off on members and stakeholders. This will be monitored closely.

We recognise this is a journey for us – but as natural collaborators, we are keen to share our learning and experiences with you throughout the trial as we adapt to a new way of working.

Please be assured that we are still fully committed to supporting our member organisations and to advancing equality, diversity and social justice in housing in Wales.

If you have any queries, or would like to discuss or share anything, please email us: info@taipawb.org

Find out more about four day week

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