Labour, meanwhile, has resisted union demands to champion the four-day working week despite it being a key policy during the 2019 election.
An independent report by the Universities of Cambridge and Salford into the council’s four-day week trial on Monday found that 22 out of its 24 services either improved or remained the same.
Areas found to have improved included call answering times at the council’s contact centre, timeliness of planning decisions, how long it takes to process benefits claims, and speed of emergency repairs to council homes.
John Williams, the lead council member for resources, said: “We know we cannot compete on salary alone and have needed to find bold new ways of tackling our recruitment and retention issues.”
The report shows that a shorter week would deliver £371,500 in yearly cost savings, mainly through permanently filling 10 hard-to-fill roles.
The council also recruited more than 130 new staff, of which three quarters said they were influenced by the four-day week trial.
A separate independent health and wellbeing survey by Robertson Cooper also found that more staff are intended to stay longer at the South Cambridgeshire district council, reducing staff turnover and high vacancy rates.
Mental and physical health, plus motivation is said have increased.
Mike Davey, the leader of Cambridge city council, which shares planning services with South Cambridgeshire, said: “It seems to be a win-win-win situation, with improved service delivery for residents, reduced staffing costs for the council, and a better work-life balance for council staff.”
The South Cambridgeshire council has continued the four-day week even after the trial formally finished in March.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
