Experts are reacting today after it emerged that employers will have to offer flexible working hours – including a four-day week – to all workers under government plans.

To receive their full pay, employees would still have to work their full hours but compressed into a shorter working week – something some workplaces already do.

Currently, employees can request flexible hours as soon as they start at a company but employers are not legally obliged to agree.

The Labour government now wants to make it so employers have to offer flexible hours from day one, except where it is “not reasonably feasible”.

It is understood Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is behind the move and wants to introduce legislation on it this autumn after consulting with unions and businesses.

The government has denied employers will be forced to allow staff to work four-day weeks, or make employees work a four-day week.

But some experts have reacted positively to the proposed plan, with one describing it as a “beacon of hope” for employee wellbeing.

Gabriel McKeown, head of macroeconomics at Sad Rabbit Investments, said talk of a four-day week is now longer a “whisper in the corridors of progressive workplaces”.

“Yet, despite the natural ‘too good to be true’ suspicion surrounding anything that feels remotely utopian, this policy could be a beacon of hope for improved mental health and enhanced productivity,” he said.

He noted that implementing the change would not come without “complexities” for employees.

Meanwhile, Cara Cunniff, leadership and performance consultant at ThriveWell Global, said a “clearer focus on outputs over inputs may be just the thing to jolt the British economy into action”.

The plan “throws down the gauntlet” and “may be just the catalyst employees and businesses need” to recruit and retain the best workers, she said.

“We’re in a race for scarce talent and the expectations of the workers of today and tomorrow bear little comparison to those of former generations.”

Sky News has also spoken to Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, and Michelle Evans, founder of Small Business Britain, about what they think of the government’s plan.

Mr Ryle says he welcomes the move which shows that ministers recognise “the four day week is here to stay” – though he noted the proposal only allows for a compression rather than a reduction in hours, which is what the campaign is aimed at.

He says some companies which have allowed employees to reduce their hours and maintain their pay have “seen productivity being maintained and the wellbeing of workers improving”. 

Offering a different opinion, Ms Evans says it could cause “challenges” for small to medium businesses.

There are lots of sectors where this “just isn’t feasible”, she adds, saying firms such as those in the retail and hospitality sector “can’t just close for a day” or afford to hire more staff.

She adds that it’s important to “be really clear” about how far flexible working can go. Smaller businesses “aren’t the bad guys” and “want their staff to do well”, she says.