News focus: Working a four-day week

Speculating about a four-day week appears to have become a full-time pursuit. Last week the Gazette editor speculated that it could be the next ‘big thing’ as hybrid working takes root. So what is actually happening on the ground? Quite a bit, in fact.  A small but growing number of law firms are signing up to trials of a shorter week as government ministers acknowledge potential economic benefits.

Campaign group 4 Day Week Global says its studies show that 63% of businesses found it easier to attract and retain talent with a four-day work week, while 78% of employees reported feeling happier and less stressed.

The assumption in law may once have been that the four-day week was a nice idea but not suited to the profession, where the demands of clients and court appearances compromised any prospect of an extra day off.

That is perhaps still the prevailing opinion, but a handful of firms are starting to embrace the idea.

A year ago Leeds-based Consilia Legal began offering four-day weeks to all senior solicitors. Those taking part retain full salary and can choose which day they take off – subject to there being someone in the department who can handle client enquiries.

Co-founder Laura Clapton said that she and her business partner were keen to reduce the number of days they worked after maternity leave, and quickly found this could be a model for the rest of the firm. With staff already largely working from home in the pandemic, it was a smooth transition.

‘We found it was not having an adverse impact on our productivity, and in fact we were a lot more efficient with the time we did have,’ said Clapton. ‘We were not working really long hours on those four days. Over the course of a five-day week there is always an opportunity to stretch the time and make things last or maybe have appointments or meetings that are not really needed, and you have never questioned why you have those meetings.’

The firm stresses that this is still a trial and needs to be tested during non-Covid times, but initial results are positive. Employees have used their day off to look after children rather than put them into nursery, exercise, visit elderly relatives, or work towards accreditations.

The firm has also been able to offer something extra to staff who might otherwise have been headhunted. Junior members of the team yet to qualify can view it as something to strive for.

'We found [a four-day week] was not having an adverse impact on our productivity, and in fact we were a lot more efficient with the time we did have. We were not working really long hours on those four days'

Laura Clapton, Consilia Legal

Clapton insists that there is no expectation on staff to work more during the four days, and the firm measures targets and objectives by output rather than hours.

‘We wanted to get away from that culture of people being individually target-driven as that doesn’t assist with a team culture,’ she said. ‘A lot of our team do business development and that is really important, so we don’t have targets on chargeable hours.

‘[It is] something different to improve wellbeing and make staff feel empowered. Ultimately we are saying “we trust you implicitly that you can manage your time” and it is not about how many hours in the day are chargeable. As long as you’re getting the job done, that’s fine.’

Part-time work, or at least taking one day a week off (paid or unpaid), seems to be spreading in the legal profession. Extra childcare demands which emerged during lockdown have had to be extended post-pandemic, and greater awareness of mental health issues and wellbeing could have persuaded more staff to ask (and crucially more firms to agree).

Sarah Jackson, litigation partner at south-east firm IBB Law, has worked a four-day week for more than 10 years. She says that clients are happy with the arrangement as long as the work gets done within the agreed timeframe.

‘It only works if your firm supports you,’ she adds. ‘If they chuck a load of work at you on your day off then it’s a recipe for disaster – firms have to commit to it. If you employ somebody part-time they are less likely to change jobs and you get more of them.’

Four-day week trials continue, overseen by campaigners and run by academics from the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. It might seem preposterous to many – but they may have said the same 100 years ago about cutting the six-day week. Times are changing – the question is whether the legal sector will be a leader or a laggard.