'We're moving to a four-day week to attract staff'

A business based in Lincoln is among the latest to offer a four-day working week because it hopes to attract the most talented staff in a competitive industry.

Sam Robinson, who runs Almond Financial, compared the benefits to "semi-retirement".

Last month, the 4 Day Week Foundation said more than 200 companies nationwide had committed to the idea, which it argued would increase productivity.

However, another business in the city, Bells Tea Shop, said a shorter working week would require it to hire more staff and increase the wage bill.

Mr Robinson, 39, said employees at the financial advice firm would work Monday to Thursday, from 09:00 to 17:00 GMT, without a reduction in pay.

"In the really competitive market that we're in, it's very hard to recruit and we want to make sure that we're standing out from the crowd," he added. "And a happy workforce is a great workforce."

The move followed a review of a four-and-a-half-day week, which Almond Financial had been operating for three years.

Mr Robinson said the business had implemented new processes and spent time managing clients' expectations about working patterns.

The 4 Day Week Foundation has long campaigned for change, having claimed that a five-day week is outdated and no longer fit for purpose.

Joe Ryle, from the foundation, described the change as a "win win" for employees and employers, with staff enjoying more leisure time and companies benefiting from greater productivity and fewer sickness absences.

Last week, more than a dozen MPs called for ministers to consider the idea as part of a new set of rules on workers' rights, though a government spokesperson said there were no plans to do so.

"A four-day, 32-hour working week is the future of work," Labour MP Peter Dowd said.

Not every business owner is convinced it would work for them.

Nicola Lockwood, who owns Bells Tea Shop, said the idea was good in theory but she would have to take on more staff to cover the opening hours, which would have a "massive" impact on her wage bill.

"We'd all like to work less for the same amount of money," she said. "But ultimately prices would have to go up."

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