The independent report analyzes the Council's four-day weekly trial

An independent report by two universities – on the performance of South Cambridge District Council during its four-day-a-week trial – has been published.

Of the 24 key performance indicators monitored by the Council, analysis by the Universities of Cambridge and Salford found 22 improved or remained the same.

An independent health and wellness study has also been published. Both reports will be considered by councilors at the Employment and Staffing Committee on Monday 15 July and at the Full Council meeting on Thursday 18 July.

Under a four-day week, officers are expected to perform 100 percent of their work, in about 80 percent of their contracted hours, for 100 percent of their pay. The working hours of the Council have been maintained so it has been open for business as it was before the trial with longer opening hours even on Wednesdays.

The researchers assessed key areas of the Council's performance over several years, including the duration of the four-day weekly trial from early 2023 to the end of March 2024.

Eleven measures were better during the trial than before. This covers areas such as call response times, the timeliness of planning decisions, how long it takes to process benefit claims and the speed of emergency repairs to Council homes. The areas found to have improved are:

• Percentage of calls to the Council's Contact Center answered.
• Changes to the average number of days to process Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support.
• Percentage of emergency repairs to Council homes completed within 24 hours.
• The average number of weeks it takes to determine homeowner planning applications.
• Key planning application decisions made in time.
• Percentage of major planning application decisions that are overturned by the Planning Inspectorate.
• Smaller decisions on planning application made in time.
• Percentage of minor planning application decisions that are overturned by the Planning Inspectorate.
• Staff turnover, which has dropped by nearly 40 percent.
• The percentage of complaints answered within the time limits.
• Invoices are paid by the Council within 30 days.

Another 11 key performance indicators showed no significant differences during the trial, meaning that those services continued to be provided at the quality they were before. The bin collection frequency has also remained the same.

The two areas that stood out in terms of performance during the trial period were accumulated housing rent and average days to restock housing stock. Residential rent collected either hit or fell just short of the Council's target in the 15 months of the trial. However, overall collection rates were below the long-term average, indicating that rent collection has not recovered to pre-Covid levels. The assumption is that this is likely due to the impact of the cost of living crisis on the finances of renter households.

Meanwhile, the target for the average number of days it takes to restore Council housing is very ambitious at 17 days. The top 25 per cent of Councils in the country average 37 days to leave Council homes. In 2022/23, the average turnaround time for South Cambridge District Council was 28 days; in 2023/24 it was 30 days. Restored Council houses now also often require extensive works which take longer to complete.

Daiga Kamerde, Professor in Work and Wellbeing at the University of Salford, said: “The trial suggests that a four-day working week maintains the quality of public services as measured by key performance indicators, while attracting new staff and improving worker wellbeing. The pioneering trial could inspire evidence-based innovation in local councils and other organizations.”

Professor Brendan Burchell from the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge, added: These results support moves to reduce the length of the working week, but are not a surprise. In the past two years, other researchers have studied many private sector employers in the UK and elsewhere who also reported that company performance was maintained after a 20 per cent reduction in working hours; employees and managers can find better ways of doing things to work more efficiently, given the right guidance and motivation.

As South Cambridge County Council and Cambridge City Council share important services such as waste and planning, Cambridge City Councilors will also receive an update on the trial, and specifically how these shared services have been working.

Cllr Mike Davey, Leader of Cambridge City Council, said: From the start we have supported South Cambridge District Council in trialling the four-day week as they try to find a solution to the recruitment and retention challenges we know councils are facing up and down the country. We have always said that the most important factor for us is to ensure that services to residents continue to be provided reliably and to a high standard and we have kept this in mind throughout the trial. It is fantastic to see the intended benefits of recruitment and retention are evident and how this has had the desired impact on improving service delivery in many areas, including our shared planning service. It appears to be a win-win situation, with improved service delivery for residents, reduced staffing costs for the council and a better work-life balance for council staff.

There is also a financial evaluation of the trial, which describes a known full year cost saving of 371,500. This is mainly due to the permanent filling of 10 positions that were previously identified as difficult to fill. Financial savings are made by not needing more expensive agency alternatives.

Meanwhile, recruitment data shows there has been a 53 per cent increase in the average number of applications for jobs advertised externally and more than 130 new staff have joined the Council. Of the new starters, 76 percent were influenced by the four-day week trial when deciding whether to join.

Findings from the latest health and wellbeing survey conducted independently by Robertson Cooper show higher employee commitment, with more staff reporting that they intend to stay longer working for the Council, a key factor in reducing turnover and high vacancy rates. Mental and physical health and motivation are also enhanced.

South Cambridgeshire District Council's Lead Cabinet Member for Resources, Cllr John Williams, said: Independent analysis by the Universities of Cambridge and Salford paints a positive picture with 22 out of 24 services either improving or remaining the same during the four-day week trial. Along with the hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money we've saved, improved recruitment and retention, and positives around health and wellbeing, this bold and pioneering trial has clearly been a success. All district councilors will now be able to discuss these reports at our next meetings. Our approach has been centered around improving the sustainability of services for residents and businesses by helping us to attract and retain talented staff in an extremely competitive job market in Greater Cambridge, where the cost of living is high. We know we can't compete on salary alone, and we've had to find bold new ways to tackle our recruitment and retention issues.

The council introduced the four-day weekly trial in a bid to improve services by filling hard-to-fill positions permanently, rather than relying on the agency's more expensive staff, which can also be disruptive. For example, when bin truck drivers leave, it can disrupt collections when new drivers are learning bin routes or agency managers cover them while replacements are trained. 11 lorry drivers left the Council in 2022, but only five left in 2023 after bin crews joined the lawsuit.

Since the conclusion of the official trial at the end of March 2024, the four-day work in the Council has continued while the Council waits for information from the Government.

During last years consultation on the resolution of local government finances, the previous government consulted on the potential of using financial leverage to discourage councils from adopting four-day weeks. Until there is more clarity on this, cabinet members considered it impossible for the Council to carry out a meaningful consultation and decide on next steps. You can read more about the Council's four-day week on its website.