More Scots working a four-day week without loss of pay would ‘ease pressure on NHS’

Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay wants more bosses to offer a four-day working week to help boost staff productivity and wellbeing.

More Scots workers should be offered the chance to do a four-day week without a loss of pay, the Greens have said.

Co-leader Gillian Mackay said her party wanted the next Scottish Government to commit to rolling out a reduced working week to more public sector agencies.

A pilot project launched in 2024 saw two quangos – South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) and Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) – trial a four day working week for all staff.

It saw 259 employees implement a 32-hour working week for a year without any loss in pay or benefits for staff, while committing to maintaining standards of service.

Staff at the two organisations reported less work-related stress and greater satisfaction with their jobs and work-life balance.

Almost all workers (98 per cent) at SOSE believed the four-day week trial improved motivation and morale, while there was a decrease in workers taking time off sick and a 25 per cent fall in those taking sick days for psychological reasons.

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The SNP Government said last year it would use the findings to inform its wider public service reform programme – but stopped short of rolling out a four-day week more widely.

Mackay said: “Too many people feel trapped in a system where life revolves around work. Our economy has been built on a broken idea that people exist to work, instead of work existing to support people’s lives.

“The Scottish Greens believe that work should give us the means to live, not take over our lives entirely. That’s why we are committed to rolling out the four-day work week across as much of Scotland’s public sector as possible.

“A four-day week – without loss of pay – would transform how we work, helping people spend more time with their families, support their communities and live fuller, happier lives.

“We’ve already seen the benefits it has through recent successful trials, and we want to build on them.”

She added: “The four-day work week is also good for wider society as well. At a time when our NHS and mental health services are under pressure, reducing work-related stress and exhaustion helps to ease that pressure.

“That’s why we want to work with trade unions and employers across Scotland to promote and normalise the benefits of a four-day working week, with no loss of pay.”

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