Big high street retailer to offer 4-day working week following Sainsbury’s

A BIG high street store is offering its staff a four-day week.

Dunelm is the latest retailer to offer employees flexible working hours.

Some of Dunelm's staff will be given the option to work four days as it trials a new hybrid working model.

It is testing different four-day working patterns in selected departments.

Should this go well, it might expand the initiative over more stores - has has 170 stores across the UK.

We've asked Dunelm what stores are currently trialling the scheme and when it may expand to all if successful.

A spokesperson for Dunelm said: "We are conducting a limited trial allowing colleagues within selected teams within our store support centre to work their current contracted hours across a compressed number of days, before progressing further."

Dunelm isn't the only company trialling a four-day week.

Most recently, Sainsbury's shook up working patterns after the pandemic.

The supermarket giant said it has been looking at ways to make its work schedules more flexible and better for employees.

It said that while it not trialling a formal four-day week, some staff may end up working a shorter week as a result.

The shake-ups come as 18 UK companies announced they have made the switch to a shorter working week permanent following a "landmark" trial.

The trial saw 61 companies across a variety of sectors in the UK commit to reducing their working hours for all staff by 20%, for six months from June last year.

The results revealed a significant drop in the rates of stress and illness among the approximately 2,900 staff trying a shorter working week.

Which companies have made the four day week permanent?

Here's a list of the UK firms who took part in the trial and decided to make it permanent:

• Hutch
• Tyler Grange
• We Are Purposeful
• Infigo
• Royal Society of Biology
• Happy
• 5 Squirrels
• Unity Marketing
• Trio Media
• Ascendancy
• TBL Services
• Frame 25
• Rivelin Robotics
• Literal Humans

There are another three which have also made the move permanent but they have not been named publicly.

Which companies were already on a four day week?

Here's a list of the UK firms offering a four day week on full pay:

• 3D Issue - printing software firm in Donegal
• Advice Direct Scotland - non-profit in Glasgow
• Atom Bank - finance firm in Durham
• Autonomy - think tank researching the future of work
• Awin - consultancy firm
• Big Potato Games - board games maker in East London
• Blink - Norwich e-commerce firm
• Canon - Edinburgh-based UK arm of the global camera giant
• CMG Technologies - Suffolk 3D metal moulding firm
• Causeway Irish Housing Association - London non-profit
• Charlton Norris - recruitment firm in Leeds
• Crystallised - Newcastle marketing agency
• Earth Science Partnership - research group in Cardiff
• Elektra Lighting - London lighting consultants
• Evolved - online marketing specialists in the North East
• Flocc - Cambridge and London-based marketing agency
• Geeks For Social Change - Manchester software developers
• Gracefruit - Glasgow cosmetics firm
• The Landmark Hotel London - upmarket hotel in Marylebone
• Legacy Events - management agency in Oxford
• MRL - Brighton recruiters specialising in tech and finance
• People and Transformational HR - Nortants design and marketing consultancy
• Punch Creative - boutique digital marketing agency in Leeds
• Reboot - Hertfordshire ad agency
• Resiliance Brokers - climate finance firm based in London
• Reward Agency - Manchester ad agency
• Stop Aids - London HIV charity
• Sinister Fish Games - Lincoln-based board game makers
• Social Enterprise Direct - Glasgow finance firm
• Softer Success - consultancy and training provider in London
• StreamGo - Sunderland-based indie events platform
• T-Cup Studios - Bath boutique consultancy
• Target Publishing - Essex indie publishers
• Technovent - high-tech medical services supplier in South Wales
• The Circle - hub for charities and non-profits in Dundee
• The UPAC group - Glasgow packing firm
• Venture Stream - Newcastle marketing agency
• YWCA Scotland - young women's movement based in Glasgow

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