Sainsbury’s has been running a trial for a new scheme that allows its employees to work a four-day week.
Staff at the grocer’s head offices in Holborn, Coventry and Milton Keynes, as well as its warehouses, and store managers in its 1,400 UK shops are all taking part in the experiment, which is due to last three months.
Under the scheme, which aims to improve flexibility, employees have the option to work their 37.5-hour contracts in a seven-day week. It means some head-office workers could work on a Saturday and take a day off in the week, or could work longer weekday hours, should they choose.
They would not be allowed, however, to take a string of Fridays off.
It is understood that there is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach to how people are allowed to work and that it would be up to department heads as to how individual teams operate.
The trial by Britain’s second largest supermarket chain does not include store staff below manager level, but one store manager at a Sainsbury’s in London told The Times that most workers at her branch were part-time and so could reduce their hours if they wanted to.
A spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s 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.”