FAQs:

Do we need to make changes to employment contracts?

No. 4ugust is intended to be a one-off one-month trial of a four-day week, so there’s no

need to make changes to anyone’s contracts. If you’re hoping to make 4ugust an annual
perk that your company offers, then including this in contracts may be worth considering
down the road.

Can we compress standard working hours into four days?

We don’t recommend doing this. Not only does it not count as a four-day working week,
but it will also greatly reduce your chances of seeing benefits such as reductions in stress
and burnout, and increases in productivity, which are commonly associated with
shorter-working weeks.

How many hours should we reduce to?

The gold-standard for a four-day week is 32 hours a week, however, we know this won’t be
achievable for everyone, particularly organisations who work nearer to 40 hours a week. If
32 hours isn’t achievable, we’d encourage you to aim for 35 hours a week, or at least a 20%
reduction in working hours.

Which day should we take off?

This is entirely up to the organisation and what works for them and their staff. Most
businesses like to take Fridays off, but some workers prefer Mondays, and some companies
take Wednesdays off. It is more than possible for different departments within larger firms
to take different days off each week, rather than the whole firm having to agree on one
day. It is also possible to spread different four-day patterns between staff members. The
key thing is being flexible so that the four-day week can best suit an organisation’s needs.

How should we manage staff annual leave?

For staff who have already booked time off in August, we recommend giving them the
days back. E.g. If they have booked a week off Monday-Friday, and the organisation has
chosen to close on Fridays, then they can be given one day back and only the
Monday-Thursday will count as part of their annual leave allocation.

What about part-time staff?

Some organisations choose not to include part-time workers when doing a short trial of a
four-day week. This is an option worth considering though we understand it may not be
desirable. If you're keen to ensure part-time workers are included in 4ugust, we would
recommend reducing their hours in line with the reductions for full-time staff or adjusting
their annual leave entitlement to recognise the uplift created by 4ugust.
What happens with the Bank Holiday Monday?

There are a number of different approaches depending on your organisation's Bank

Holiday policy. You could choose to treat the Bank Holiday Monday as the non-working
day for that week, switching from the typical day you choose to have off. Or you could add
the Bank Holiday to annual leave entitlement to allow staff to choose when they’d like to
take it off. The other alternative is to have a three day week for that week.