Anger as Lib Dem-run local authority lets staff work four days a week

2023-05-01

The ‘charter for idlers’: Anger as Lib Dem-run local authority lets staff work four days a week for the same salary – just after announcing council tax rises

South Cambridgeshire District Council will reduce working hours by 20 per cent
But MP Jacob Rees-Mogg branded the four-day week trial as an ‘idler’s charter’

A council that is allowing staff to work just four days a week has been accused of introducing an ‘idlers’ charter’ as concerns emerge that taxpayers are being short-changed.

South Cambridgeshire District Council will agree tomorrow to let all of its desk-based employees reduce their working hours by 20 per cent for the next year without loss of pay, after saying a pilot project had been a success.

It is even extending the trial to include binmen, despite fears they will not have time to complete all of their rounds.

But it can be revealed today that official reports published by the Lib Dem-run council – which has a £18 million HQ notorious for lying empty as so many employees work from home – raise major questions over the policy.

The documents reveal that officials are taking advantage of the more relaxed regime to enjoy longer lunch breaks and dog walks.

South Cambridgeshire District Council (pictured) will agree tomorrow to let all of its desk-based employees reduce their working hours by 20 per cent

Local politicians complain it is ‘impossible’ to get hold of anyone on a Monday or a Friday.

And despite the council’s boasts, many key performance targets were missed, including the time call centre operators took to answer the phone.

Last night Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg branded the four-day week experiment – which trade unions want to be brought in across the public sector – as an ‘idler’s charter’.

He added: ‘Councils need to remember they are providing a public service and the public expect it to be provided five days a week.’

South Cambridgeshire MP Anthony Browne said: ‘People are furious about this because council taxes have gone up.

‘The council should be focusing on the residents of South Cambridgeshire instead of its staff. In a lot of areas it is struggling to deliver services.’

Elliot Keck of the TaxPayers’ Alliance – which today launches a campaign against the four-day week – said: ‘Taxpayers will rightly worry that the council clock-off will spread across the country.’

Asked about the targets missed, South Cambridgeshire insisted: ‘There are no serious issues that require concern when comparing the data against longer time scales, outliers and seasonality.’

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