Huge supermarket chain to offer four-day working week to thousands of staff

A HUGE supermarket chain is offering flexible working to thousands of staff including a four day week.

Sainsbury’s is the latest company to shake up working patterns after the pandemic.

It comes as 18 UK companies announced they have made the switch to a shorter working week permanent following a “landmark” trial.

The supermarket giant said it has been looking at ways to make its work schedules more flexible and better for employees.

It said that while it not trialling a formal four-day week, some staff may end up working a shorter week as a result.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We are always looking to evolve our ways of working to ensure we can do the best possible job for customers while continuing to be a brilliant place to work for our colleagues.

“We are currently testing new ways to be more efficient and offer improved flexibility.”

Sainsbury’s is the UK’s second biggest supermarket and employs 125,000 people at 1,400 stores across the country, dozens of warehouses and at head offices in London, Coventry and Manchester.

Head office staff are part of the scheme along with store managers, , but not store staff below this level.

The world’s biggest trial of a four-day working week was hailed a “major breakthrough” earlier this week.

The trial saw 61 companies across a variety of sectors in the UK commit to reducing their working hours for all staff by 20%, for six months from June last year.

The results revealed a significant drop in the rates of stress and illness among the approximately 2,900 staff trying a shorter working week.

Which companies have made the four day week permanent?

Here’s a list of the UK firms who took part in the trial and decided to make it permanent:

• Hutch
• Tyler Grange
• We Are Purposeful
• Infigo
• Royal Society of Biology
• Happy
• 5 Squirrels
• Unity Marketing
• Trio Media
• Ascendancy
• TBL Services
• Frame 25
• Rivelin Robotics
• Literal Humans

There are another three which have also made the move permanent but they have not been named publicly.

Which companies were already on a four day week?

Here’s a list of the UK firms offering a four day week on full pay:

• 3D Issue – printing software firm in Donegal
• Advice Direct Scotland – non-profit in Glasgow
• Atom Bank – finance firm in Durham
• Autonomy – think tank researching the future of work
• Awin – consultancy firm
• Big Potato Games – board games maker in East London
• Blink – Norwich e-commerce firm
• Canon – Edinburgh-based UK arm of the global camera giant
• CMG Technologies – Suffolk 3D metal moulding firm
• Causeway Irish Housing Association – London non-profit
• Charlton Norris – recruitment firm in Leeds
• Crystallised – Newcastle marketing agency
• Earth Science Partnership – research group in Cardiff
• Elektra Lighting – London lighting consultants
• Evolved – online marketing specialists in the North East
• Flocc – Cambridge and London-based marketing agency
• Geeks For Social Change – Manchester software developers
• Gracefruit – Glasgow cosmetics firm
• The Landmark Hotel London – upmarket hotel in Marylebone
• Legacy Events – management agency in Oxford
• MRL – Brighton recruiters specialising in tech and finance
• People and Transformational HR – Nortants design and marketing consultancy
• Punch Creative – boutique digital marketing agency in Leeds
• Reboot – Hertfordshire ad agency
• Resiliance Brokers – climate finance firm based in London
• Reward Agency – Manchester ad agency
• Stop Aids – London HIV charity
• Sinister Fish Games – Lincoln-based board game makers
• Social Enterprise Direct – Glasgow finance firm
• Softer Success – consultancy and training provider in London
• StreamGo – Sunderland-based indie events platform
• T-Cup Studios – Bath boutique consultancy
• Target Publishing – Essex indie publishers
• Technovent – high-tech medical services supplier in South Wales
• The Circle – hub for charities and non-profits in Dundee
• The UPAC group – Glasgow packing firm
• Venture Stream – Newcastle marketing agency
• YWCA Scotland – young women’s movement based in Glasgow

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk