A four-day week can work well for some small businesses, particularly where it helps attract and keep good staff. It is not a fit for every business, and it needs planning around customer cover, pay and holiday entitlement before you commit.
The safest approach is to be clear about which version you mean, work through the costs, and run a time-limited trial.
What a four-day week can mean
There is no single model. The main options are:
- Compressed hours: the same weekly hours over four longer days, for the same pay.
- Reduced hours, same pay: fewer hours in total with no cut in salary, on the basis that productivity rises.
- Reduced hours, reduced pay: a move to part-time work, agreed with the employee.
Each has very different cost and contract implications, so be specific with your team about what is being proposed.
Possible benefits
A four-day week can make you more attractive to job applicants and help keep existing staff. Some businesses find people are more focused when time is limited, and that meetings and low-value tasks get cut back.
Whether that happens in your business depends on the type of work. Results vary, so measure your own rather than relying on what others report.
The challenges
Customers still expect service five days a week. Staggering days off across the team can maintain cover, but it adds scheduling work and can be difficult in small teams where one person holds a key role.
Longer days under compressed hours can be tiring and may not suit roles that involve physical work or close concentration. Working time rules on rest breaks and daily rest still apply.
Pay, holiday and contracts
Any change to hours or pay is a change to the employment contract and needs the employee's agreement. Put it in writing.
Holiday entitlement should be recalculated. Statutory holiday is 5.6 weeks a year, so someone working four days a week is entitled to at least 22.4 days, compared with 28 days for a five-day week. Bank holidays need a clear policy so part-time and full-time staff are treated fairly.
If pay is reduced, check that the hourly rate still meets the National Minimum Wage. From 1 April 2026 that is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over.
As an example, an employee on £27,000 for 37.5 hours a week who moves to 30 hours at 80 percent of salary would earn £21,600. Their hourly rate stays the same. If instead they keep £27,000 for 30 hours, their hourly cost to you rises by 25 percent, which needs to be covered by higher output.
Running a trial
A trial of three to six months lets you test the idea without a permanent commitment. Before you start:
- Agree what you will measure, such as output, sales, customer response times and sickness absence.
- Record those measures for a period before the trial so you have a comparison.
- Set out how cover will work and who decides when it cannot.
- Make clear in writing that the arrangement is temporary and will be reviewed.
Employees can request flexible working from their first day, so even if a four-day week is not right for the whole business, you may still receive individual requests. Have a fair process for considering them.
What to do
- Decide which version of a four-day week you are considering.
- Cost it, including any overtime or extra staff needed for cover.
- Take employment law advice before changing contracts.
- Run a measured trial and review the results honestly.
If you would like help working through the cost of a change to working patterns, book a free call.
