SCOTLAND’S trade union leaders backed calls today for a four-day working week, a move supported by more than eight out of 10 Scots.

A new poll carried out by think tank IPPR Scotland found that 80 per cent of people believed that cutting their number of days at work with no loss of pay would have a “positive effect on their wellbeing.”

Pilots are being staged in the wake of changes in working practices brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, with the Scottish government having pledged a £10 million fund for companies trialling a four-day week.

But IPPR Scotland said that ministers should expand such schemes to include more sectors of the economy, people working in non-office-based jobs, those who do shift work and part-time employees.

The think tank argued that unless lower-paid sectors were included in the pilot, the trial schemes may not properly test the impact of such a switch.

Rachel Statham, senior research fellow at IPPR Scotland, said: “We must examine what shorter working time looks like from the perspective of shift workers, those working excessive hours to make ends meet, or those who currently have fewer hours than they would like to have.”

The move was backed by the STUC, whose general secretary Roz Foyer said any such plans should benefit all workers. 

She said: “A four-day week should be for everyone, and research into it should take into account workers other than nine-to-five office workers.

“If Scotland is serious about creating a wellbeing economy, then a four-day week is a key way to make progress towards it.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish government said that reductions in the working week might help sustain more and better jobs, and enhance wellbeing.