Glasgow’s three Your Party councillors have proposed a four day work week for council staff, allocating £150,000 to develop a roadmap that would reduce working hours by 20 per cent while maintaining the same rate of pay. The announcement came ahead of Tuesday’s budget meetings for the 2026/27 financial year.
The proposal, which aims for completion by 2026, would be led by a cross party working group of councillors. It sits alongside plans to bring roles currently serviced by “overpriced contractors” into council control and to explore re-establishing directly managed council housing.
Councillor Seonad Hoy, representing Hillhead, said: “For years, Glasgow’s public services have been decimated by austerity, forced upon us by cuts to budgets handed down by the UK and Scottish Governments. We are putting forward a budget which includes proposals to empower council staff to work shorter weeks at no loss of pay, which has proven to lead to a happier, more productive workforce.”
The current shortfall would be covered by increasing council tax by 5 per cent, which the party describes as “one of the lowest proposals in Scotland.” Councillor Dan Hutchison, representing Govan, added: “Councillors shouldn’t be taking decisions based on how they manage decline. They should be taking them based on what’s best for their constituents.”
A four day work week for council staff is one of those ideas that sounds either brilliant or delusional depending on your perspective. Trials elsewhere in the UK have shown promising results in terms of productivity and staff wellbeing. But Glasgow City Council is not a tech startup running an experiment. It delivers essential services to a city with deep deprivation, crumbling infrastructure, and a permanent funding gap. Whether £150,000 for a roadmap translates into anything practical is the question. The sentiment is admirable. The arithmetic is what matters.