Four-day week could save Government £21m a year, civil servants say

Fran Heathcote said PCS members believed a four-day week was ‘critical’ for good quality of life (Lucy North/PA) - (PA Archive)

Civil servants are calling for permission to work a four-day week, saying the move is “critical to attaining a good quality of life” and could help save the Government more than £21 million a year.

The arrangement would more than halve staff turnover and free up money to hire an extra 2,345 workers, officials in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimate.