Asda scraps four-day working week after 11-hour shifts leave staff exhausted

Asda has scrapped its flagship four-day working week policy after staff complained the extra hours were leaving them exhausted on their day off.

The supermarket chain introduced a flexible work schedule last year, allowing managers to work 44 hours a day, spread over four days, for the same pay.

However, the system was rolled back after workers said the 11-hour shifts were “too physically demanding” and left them exhausted on their extra day off.

Employees also reported that they struggled with starting work too early and finishing work too late. Employees who depend on public transportation were particularly affected by the change.

Parents said the longer days also made it more difficult for them to take their children to and from school.

Following the feedback, Asda says it has cancelled the pilot, as well as a planned nine-day, two-week trial.

The supermarket is still testing a working pattern that involves working 39 hours a day, spread over five days, without cutting employees’ pay.

According to Asda, this has proven to be more popular and will last until the end of 2024.

The move comes as Unison, Britain’s largest union, prepares to lobby the new government for the introduction of a four-day working week, something Labour has been trying to downplay.

Instead, the new Labour government is expected to push NHS workers to work longer hours to reduce waiting lists and speed up the planning process to boost housebuilding.

In South Cambridgeshire, a multi-year council study found that public sector workers who worked a four-day week were more productive and satisfied with their jobs. Staff turnover fell by 39%, saving the council £371,000 a year on public sector staffing costs.

Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said the findings “present a huge opportunity for councils and public sector organisations to start planning for a four-day working week”.

He added: ‘These results prove once and for all that a four-day working week with no loss of pay can be absolutely successful in a local government environment.

‘Not only has the work-life balance improved dramatically, the council’s performance has also improved.

‘With a more sympathetic Labour government in power, there is a great opportunity for councils and public sector organisations to plan for a four-day week.’

An Asda spokesperson said: ‘Last year we started testing four different flexible working patterns for managers across 20 stores.

‘In April we announced that two of these trials, a new store structure and five shorter working days, would run until the end of the year, after receiving positive feedback from colleagues in these stores.

‘We continue to trial different flexible working patterns to assess how they can benefit our colleagues and our business.’

However, Asda is not the only private sector company to turn its back on the four-day working week. Appliance specialist Domestic & General scrapped a similar trial period after staff felt ‘mentally’ drained by the extra hours.

Matthew Crummack, CEO of D&G, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘Half the team loved it, the other half hated it. It makes the day last longer and a bit more intense.’

Last year, internet service provider Krystal scrapped its four-day workweek after claiming colleagues were struggling to complete all their weekly tasks in the reduced time.

But they responded by shortening the length of their working day from six to five hours.

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