Warning beer prices could rise due to major change to working conditions
THE price of beer could be forced up by a change to the working week, a pub boss has warned.
Last year 61 UK companies took part in a trial which saw staff work four days rather than five.
The trial was said to have been a success and 56 of the firms that took part said they were sticking to a four-day week.
But now JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has warned that the move to change the working week could push up the price of a pint.
Speaking to he said that a four-day-week would hit the pub industry hard, because wages form 34% of sales.
Mr Martin said that the move to reduce the working week could be present a problem for small pubs where the impact could be "intense."
Rising costs have hit the 2023 high street hard, as retailers battle inflation and shoppers reluctant to spend.
Wetherspoons, famed for its cheap pints and meal deals, is set to close 11 pubs with 33 now up for sale.
Last year's pilot four-day-week scheme, organised by 4 Day Week Global, took place between June and December last year.
A summary report found that it had "extensive benefits" particularly for employees' well-being.
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The report found that the move could now long standing attitudes to work rooted in the past.
A mid-week break or three day weekend was now part of the new normal, the authors said.
Lead researcher, Professor Brendan Burchell of Cambridge University said: “Many employees were very keen to find efficiency gains themselves.
"Long meetings with too many people were cut short or ditched completely.
"Workers were much less inclined to kill time, and actively sought out technologies that improved their productivity."
Joe Ryle, director of the , calls the results a “major breakthrough moment” for the idea of shorter working weeks.
“Across a wide variety of different sectors of the economy, these incredible results show that the four-day week actually work," he added.
Prof Brendan added: “When we ask employers, a lot of them are convinced the four-day week is going to happen.
"It has been uplifting for me personally, just talking to so many upbeat people over the last six months.
"A four-day week means a better working life and family life for so many people.”
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In November last year Atom Bank and global marketing company Awin, that both have 450 companies revealed they would be adopting a four-day-week.
