Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of a four-day working week to the Government’s wider strategy for flexible working.

A four-day working week may work well for some workers and employers. However, the Government does not believe there can be a ‘one size fits all’ approach to work arrangements. That is why we put individual agency and choice at the heart of our consultation on “making flexible working the default”, which closed on 1st December 2021. We are currently reviewing the responses and will respond in due course.

BEIS Ministers attend the Flexible Working Taskforce, which is co-chaired by senior officials and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development. This considers how to support flexible working in all its forms. The Taskforce’s membership comprises representatives from 16 external organisations including trade unions, voluntary sector organisations, and business groups.