Asda scraps four-day working week because it made staff even more tired

Unions are pushing the new government to adopt the four-day week.

Asda has scrapped its flagship four-day week policy after staff complained the extra hours were leaving them exhausted on their day off.

The supermarket giant launched a flexible working scheme last year which allowed managers to work 44 hours over the course of four days for the same pay.

However, the system was rolled back after workers said the 11-hour shifts were too ‘physically demanding’ and left them worn out on their extra day off.

Workers also said they struggled with the early starters and late finishes, with employees who relied on public transport saying they were particularly affected by the change.

Parents said the longer days also made it harder for them to drop off and pick their children up from school.

In response to the feedback, Asda says they have abandoned the pilot- along with a planned trial of a nine-day fortnight.

The supermarket is still testing a working pattern that involves doing 39 hours across five days, without reducing their employees pay.

Asda said that has proved more popular, and will run until the end of 2024.

The move comes as Unison- Britain’s largest union- prepares to lobby the new government to introduce a four-day week, which Labour is seeking to downplay.

Instead, the new Labour government is expected to push NHS workers to work for longer hours in order to reduce waiting lists, and is planning to speed up the planning process to boost housebuilding efforts.

In South Cambridgeshire, a multi-year trial conducted by the council found public sector workers subjected to a four-day week had increased productivity and job satisfaction, while staff turnover fell by 39%, saving the council £371,000 a year on agency staff costs.

Joe Ryle, the director of the 4 Day Week Campaign said the results heralded ‘a huge opportunity for councils and organisations across the public sector to start planning for a four-day working week’.

He added: ‘These results prove once and for all that a four-day week with no loss of pay absolutely can succeed in a local government setting.

‘Not only has work-life balance dramatically improved but so has the performance of the council.

‘With a more sympathetic Labour government now in place, there is a huge opportunity for councils and organisations across the public sector to start planning for a four-day working week.’

An Asda spokesman said: ‘We began trialling four different flexible working patterns for managers in 20 stores last year.

‘In April we announced that two of those trials, a new retail structure and five shorter working days, would run until the end of the year following positive feedback from colleagues in these stores.

‘We will continue to test different flexible working patterns to assess how these can benefit our colleagues and our business.’

However, Asda are not the only private sector company to turn their backs on the four-day week scheme, with household appliance specialist Domestic & General scrapping a similar pilot after claiming the extra hours left staff feeling ‘psychologically’ drained.

D&G chief executive Matthew Crummack told the Daily Telegraph: ‘Half the team absolutely loved it, half the team didn’t like it at all — it makes for a longer day, it’s a bit more intense.’

Last year, internet services firm Krystal axed a four-day week scheme after claiming colleagues struggled to get all their weekly tasks done in the reduced time.

But they responded by shortening the length of their working day from six hours to five.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.