Edinburgh Council has said that it intends to explore running a trial four-day work week after an English local authority had success with it.

City council officers will examine four-day work week trials in other parts of the UK and determine whether such a trial can be run in Edinburgh.

In a council meeting last week, councillors said that they had looked at South Cambridgeshire District Council’s successful trial, where benefits included attracting and retaining workers, reducing reliance on agency staff, and cutting costs.

However, councillors also noted the council’s long-term challenges around budget pressures, recruitment into “hard to fill” roles, use of agency staff and overtime, and indicators of poorer worker health, such as illness absence rates.

Councillors have asked officers “to prepare a report for Finance & Resources Committee within two cycles bringing together information and data on recruitment, retention, productivity and health of our workers, and exploring the evidence from reduced or four-day week pilots/trials/permanent models in relevant organisations”.

They also noted the opportunities offered by the Four Day Week Foundation “to explore options or carry out a pilot”, asking officers to consider this offer within their report.

According to press reports, Green councillor Claire Miller, who put forward the motion to explore a trial, said: “When faced with the need for budget cuts every year, it’s a joy to find a proposal which helps to save money while also being beneficial rather than detrimental.

However, Conservative councillor Chris Cowdy was cautious, saying: “At a time when our own council continues to face budgetary pressures, rising demand of core services and persistent performance issues, now may not be the time for a speculative experiment.”

Four-day work weeks have gained more popularity since the boom in hybrid working prompted by the Covid pandemic, and many organisations are starting to take it up.

Numerous studies have shown that moving to a four-day week boosts productivity and worker wellbeing. When Microsoft trialled a four-day week with no loss of pay in its Japan office, productivity went up by 40%.

Separately, Manchester-based solicitors IMD Solicitors announced last week that it has permanently moved its 31 employees to a four-day, 30-hour working week, without any reduction in pay, after a nine-month trial had positive results. Full client availability will be provided five days a week by staggering staff days off.

The 4 Day Week Foundation has accredited more than 230 UK companies that have permanently adopted a four-day week with no loss of pay for employees, covering over 6,000 workers. The vast majority have reduced working hours to 32 hours a week or fewer.

Joe Ryle, campaign director of the 4 Day Week Foundation, said: “With 50% more free time, moving to a four-day week gives workers the freedom to be able to live a happier and better life.

“As hundreds of British companies and one local council have already shown, implementation can be a win-win for both workers and employers. The 9-5, 5 day working week was invented 100 years ago and no longer suits the realities of modern life. We are long overdue an update.”