Public sector may trial four-day week

 More people in Wales could be working a four-day week after the country’s Commissioner for Future Generations, Sophie Howe called on the Government to launch a shorter working week trial in the public sector.

Ms Howe (pictured), a Government official whose role, enshrined in law, is to protect the interests of future generations, said the Public Service should lead the way and inspire other businesses to follow suit.

She acknowledged there would be a heavy cost to the public sector in the short term, but argued that it could eventually mean increased productivity and savings for society if it led to a healthier workforce and more cohesive population.

“It’s clear that following the pandemic, people across Wales are re-evaluating their priorities in life and looking for a healthier work-life balance,” Ms Howe said.

“The escalating demands of caring for loved ones due to an ageing population and an increase in mental health issues, exacerbated by working long hours, are just some of the factors that make a shorter working week more appealing.”

Noting that the working week had not changed for more than 100 years, she said now was the perfect opportunity for the Government to commit to a pioneering trial and build evidence for greater change across Wales.

A report by Ms Howe and think tank, Autonomy found that about two-thirds of Welsh people would ideally work a four-day week and almost 60 per cent said they would support the Government piloting a scheme to move towards it.

“Moving to a four-day week in the Welsh public sector could be particularly effective as sickness rates are high there, and giving staff an extra day off could help to tackle this,” the report says.

“It would foster better cohesion by giving people more time to take part in community groups and projects, and could cut carbon emissions by reducing commuting.”

It also argued that a shorter working week would especially help women, who had less free time on average than men.

A Government spokesperson said it recognised the potential benefits of a shorter working week.

“We are considering the progress of pilots in other countries and examining the lessons Wales can learn,” the spokesperson said.

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Concern over ‘revolving door’ officials

 Many former Israeli Public Servants enjoy lucrative second careers in the private sector, new research has revealed.

Data collected by the Bank of Israel shows that more than half of the nation’s publicly-traded companies employ former officials, including regulators who once oversaw the same companies they have now joined.

The report’s author, Noam Michelson said the “revolving door” trend, in which Public Servants transitioned to work in the private sector, represented a challenge for democracies and developed economies.

“There is a need to strike a balance between conflicting needs: Public interest versus employees’ rights,” Mr Michelson said.

“On one hand, such transitions, if not properly regulated, can lead to abuse. They may give an unfair advantage to companies that employ former Public Servants who could use their knowledge and connections to influence future regulation.”

He said in addition, the lure of the private sector could influence the decisions of current regulators who might try to avoid harming their chances of future employment.

“On the other hand, Governments need to be able to attract top talent to the Public Service, part of which requires that they refrain from curbing workers’ employment options once they leave,” Mr Michelson said.

“At the heart of the debate… lies the question of the balance between public trust, market freedom and efficiency, and the individual’s freedom to engage in any occupation.”

He said a society could shore up trust in the public sector by banning all transitions of former Public Servants to private-sector jobs.

“However, that would impose a heavy cost in terms of limitations on market freedom and efficiency, as the set of choices from which firms choose managers would be smaller,” Mr Michelson said.

“The possible resulting deterioration of quality in the public sector would, paradoxically, lead to an erosion of public trust in the Public Service.”

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‘More efficiency’ with fixed-term contracts

Estonian State Secretary, Taimar Peterkop has called for a significant expansion of the number of Public Servants employed on fixed-term contracts.

In his feedback to a draft law amending the Civil Service Act, Mr Peterkop (pictured) said middle managers of virtually all Ministries and Public Authorities should be contractors.

 In its current form the Act states that these officials are appointed for an indefinite period, except in exceptional cases.

 Exceptions include the State Secretary himself, as well as the Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries of Ministries and the heads of Government Agencies, all of whom are appointed for five years.

 Mr Peterkop wants the five-year contracts extended to the next level of management, including the heads of individual units within Ministries.

 “Every five years, a competitive process would be held for the position where, of course, the current manager would have the opportunity to run and be appointed if successful,” Mr Peterkop said.

 "The introduction of the fixed-term employment, not only for senior Civil Servants but also for their immediate subordinates, and the establishment of uniform requirements and selection, evaluation and development principles will make the rotation system, which has been relatively modest, more efficient."

 He said he wanted to change the situation where the middle manager was sitting in place for decades and the arrival of new and perhaps more capable people was being blocked.

 There are currently, 217 middle managers working in the Ministries, whose average length of service in the same position is 4.5 years. However, 66 middle managers have held one position for more than five years, and 28 for more than 10 years.

 The number of middle managers working in the same position for a long time has decreased in recent years due to the restructuring of four Government Agencies.

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