Introduction to Worthing’s Four Day Week Trial
Following growing national momentum for work-hour reforms, Worthing launched its pioneering four day week trial in early 2023, positioning itself among the UK’s first coastal towns to test this model. This initiative responds to 2023 CIPD data showing 1 in 7 UK employers now actively exploring reduced-hour arrangements to address burnout and recruitment challenges.
Early data from the Worthing trial reveals promising signs, with participating council departments reporting a 17% drop in sick leave and 92% of staff maintaining productivity levels through compressed schedules. These interim findings align with outcomes from Cambridge’s 2023 public sector pilot, where employee retention improved by 23% under similar conditions.
As Worthing’s UK 4-day work trial progresses, understanding its operational framework becomes essential for local stakeholders. We’ll next examine how this specific initiative functions and which sectors qualify for participation.
Key Statistics
What is the Four Day Week Trial
participating council departments reporting a 17% drop in sick leave and 92% of staff maintaining productivity levels through compressed schedules
Building on Worthing’s pioneering 2023 launch, this trial tests a 100:80:100™ model where participating organisations provide full salaries for 80% of traditional hours while maintaining 100% productivity targets. It specifically adapts the global 4 Day Week Campaign framework to public sector needs across West Sussex, as validated in the UK Flexible Work Alliance’s 2025 implementation guide.
Eligible local entities include council departments, registered SMEs, and essential service providers like healthcare support teams and schools, all coordinated through Worthing Borough Council’s pilot portal. Participation requires committing to productivity metrics tracked via the council’s digital dashboard, with rotating three-day weekends being the most common scheduling approach.
This structured trial phase directly enables the measurable outcomes we’ll explore next regarding benefits for Worthing’s workforce and employers.
Benefits of Participating in Worthing
The compressed schedule also reduces commuting expenses by approximately £780 annually per participant in West Sussex
This structured approach yields measurable advantages: employees in similar UK trials reported 40% lower burnout rates and gained 2.4 average weekly personal hours, according to Autonomy’s 2024 Public Sector Report, while maintaining productivity through efficient workflows. The compressed schedule also reduces commuting expenses by approximately £780 annually per participant in West Sussex, as calculated by Transport for South East’s 2025 cost analysis.
Organisations benefit from heightened talent retention, with Cambridge’s 2023-2024 public sector trial showing 57% lower staff turnover alongside 98% sustained productivity when using comparable digital tracking dashboards. Early adopters additionally report 20% higher job application rates since implementing four-day schedules, based on Reed Recruitment’s 2025 UK workforce trends.
These dual advantages create compelling incentives for Worthing entities considering this flexible working trial, naturally leading us to examine specific eligibility requirements next.
Eligibility Requirements for Applicants
Cambridge's 2023-2024 public sector trial showing 57% lower staff turnover alongside 98% sustained productivity
The Worthing four day week trial requires organisations to be registered within the borough and operate in eligible sectors like professional services, retail, or hospitality under the 2025 council framework. Businesses must employ at least five full-time staff to ensure measurable impact, aligning with Brighton’s 2024 pilot which showed smaller cohorts yielded inconsistent productivity metrics.
Applicants must demonstrate operational capacity to maintain service levels through digital monitoring tools, mirroring Cambridge’s 98% productivity retention using comparable dashboards. Participation requires a six-month commitment including bi-monthly anonymised employee surveys tracking wellbeing metrics that underpinned Autonomy’s 2024 burnout reduction findings.
Eligible employees must have over three months’ tenure to join this Worthing UK 4-day work trial, establishing stable pre-implementation baselines. These criteria ensure meaningful data collection for the Worthing flexible working trial UK, directly informing the application process detailed next.
How to Apply for the Four Day Week Trial
Businesses must employ at least five full-time staff to ensure measurable impact
Eligible Worthing businesses meeting the criteria outlined can apply through the council’s dedicated online portal, which opened in January 2025 with a three-month submission window closing April 30th, aligning with Brighton’s 2024 digital application system that processed 87% of submissions within 10 working days according to the South East Business Consortium. You’ll first complete an expression of interest form confirming sector alignment and staff numbers, followed by scheduling a virtual consultation to discuss operational readiness, mirroring Cambridge’s 2024 pilot framework that achieved 92% participant satisfaction during onboarding.
The application requires preliminary evidence of your digital monitoring capabilities and employee tenure records, which will be cross-verified against the trial’s baseline metrics before approval, similar to Autonomy’s 2024 validation protocol that reduced ineligible applications by 63% nationwide. Successful applicants receive onboarding support including template survey tools and productivity dashboards, with cohort placements starting quarterly throughout 2025 to ensure staggered evaluation, as implemented in Manchester’s phased 2024 rollout.
Prepare your operational documentation and staff records in advance for seamless submission, as incomplete applications face automatic deferral under the council’s 2025 compliance rules detailed in the next section covering required paperwork for this Worthing UK 4-day work trial.
Required Documents for Application
Worthing Borough Council confirming a strict April 30th, 2025 application deadline
Following the council’s emphasis on complete submissions to avoid automatic deferral, gather verified staff tenure records showing minimum 12-month employment continuity and documentation of your digital monitoring systems’ capabilities—key requirements mirroring Oxford’s 2024 trial where 68% of approved applicants used tools like Time Doctor or Hubstaff according to CIPD’s 2025 productivity report. Include current business registration certificates confirming Worthing operations and sector alignment, plus payroll evidence validating staff numbers referenced in your expression of interest form.
Prepare these alongside operational documents detailing workflow structures, as 41% of deferred UK applications in early 2025 failed this step per Business West’s March audit—crucial for demonstrating readiness during your scheduled consultation.
Organising these materials now streamlines progression to the application submission process where you’ll digitally upload them through the council’s portal before April’s deadline.
Application Submission Process Explained
With your complete documentation organised per the council’s specifications, you’ll digitally upload all materials through Worthing Borough Council’s dedicated portal before the April deadline, mirroring the efficient approach used by 74% of successful UK trial applicants in 2025 according to ACAS data. This online system—accessible via the ‘Business Trials’ section of the council website—requires your pre-registered Expression of Interest reference number to initiate the submission for the Worthing four day week trial.
Upload each document as separate, clearly labelled PDFs following the portal’s category prompts: business certificates under “Registration Proof”, staff tenure records under “Employment History”, and digital monitoring evidence under “Productivity Systems”—structured uploads reduced processing errors by 65% in Brighton’s 2025 pilot per the South East Business Hub report. Ensure file sizes stay below 10MB each, as oversized submissions caused 27% of technical rejections during January’s national trial rollouts according to Digital UK’s March bulletin.
Upon successful upload, you’ll receive immediate email confirmation with a unique tracking ID—retain this for status updates and prepare for the evaluation phase preceding the trial’s commencement timeline. This digital submission completes your active role in the Worthing reduced hours trial application, allowing council reviewers to verify operational viability before we outline the critical deadlines for the next stages.
Key Deadlines and Timeline for Worthing Trial
Following your digital submission, the council’s evaluation phase commences immediately, with Worthing Borough Council confirming a strict April 30th, 2025 application deadline for the Worthing four day week trial based on their published schedule matching Brighton’s 2025 pilot structure per the South East Business Hub. Successful applicants will receive formal notification by June 15th, 2025, allowing a mandated eight-week preparation window before the trial’s official September 1st, 2025 start date across participating Worthing businesses.
Council reviewers aim to complete operational viability assessments within 6-8 weeks post-submission, a timeframe refined from the initial 10-week process used in 2024 trials which caused 22% of UK pilot delays according to ACAS’s February 2025 efficiency report. You should monitor your application portal weekly using the tracking ID provided at upload, as 89% of status updates occur digitally without postal notifications per Worthing’s 2025 trial communication protocol.
This structured timeline ensures all approved Worthing businesses synchronise trial commencement, facilitating regional impact measurement before we detail the council’s post-approval monitoring requirements in the next phase. Retain your tracking ID throughout this period, as it remains essential for accessing evaluation updates and eventual trial onboarding materials specific to the Worthing reduced hours trial.
What Happens After You Apply
Upon submission for the Worthing four day week trial, consistently monitor your application portal using the unique tracking ID, as Worthing Borough Council issues 89% of status updates digitally within their streamlined 6-8 week assessment window according to their 2025 protocol. Expect potential requests for operational clarifications during this phase, particularly regarding staffing models or productivity metrics, mirroring the 32% document supplementation rate observed in Brighton’s concurrent pilot per the South East Business Hub’s May 2025 interim report.
If approved, you’ll receive formal confirmation by June 15th, 2025, triggering the mandatory eight-week preparation period where successful Four-day week pilot Worthing participants must finalise revised contracts and workflow systems before the September 1st start. This synchronised onboarding allows regional economic impact analysis while ensuring compliance with the Worthing reduced hours trial’s benchmarking framework.
The council will subsequently require monthly productivity and wellbeing reports during the trial, aligning with Brighton’s 2025 monitoring standards which we’ll detail alongside dedicated support resources in the following section.
Support Resources for Trial Participants
Worthing Borough Council provides comprehensive assistance through their dedicated Four-day week pilot Worthing helpdesk, which resolved 87% of participant queries within 24 hours during Brighton’s parallel scheme according to the South East Business Hub’s Q2 2025 metrics. You’ll receive customised productivity tracking templates and fortnightly virtual clinics with HR specialists to streamline monthly reporting requirements mentioned earlier.
Access their online portal featuring sector-specific workflow redesign guides used by 93% of successful Worthing UK 4-day work trial applicants, alongside legal frameworks for revised contracts developed with Sussex Chambers of Commerce. The council partners with local business mentors who achieved 22% operational efficiency gains during Chichester’s 2024 compressed workweek experiment.
Should outstanding questions persist after utilising these resources, our next section addresses common implementation concerns in the Worthing four day week trial through detailed Frequently Asked Questions. This covers practical scenarios from overtime calculations to service coverage models referenced in your mandatory preparation phase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Following the productivity tracking templates and legal frameworks mentioned earlier, many ask how overtime functions in the Worthing four day week trial when condensed hours are exceeded. Revised contracts mandate a 25% premium for hours beyond the 32-hour threshold, aligning with Sussex Chambers of Commerce guidance and mirroring practices from 78% of UK trials according to Work Foundation’s March 2025 report.
Service coverage concerns are addressed through the council’s sector-specific workflow guides, with 89% of Worthing UK 4-day work trial participants using staggered shifts or cross-training to maintain operations, per South East Business Hub’s Q1 2025 data. This approach builds on Chichester’s 22% efficiency gains, eliminating need for additional staffing in most cases.
For further queries about mentor support or application timelines after reviewing these FAQs, our conclusion outlines immediate next steps to join the Four-day week pilot Worthing, including final compliance checks and cohort matching procedures starting June 2025.
Conclusion and Next Steps
The Worthing four day week trial represents a pivotal opportunity for local businesses and employees, with UK-wide trials showing 92% of participating companies maintaining the model post-pilot according to 2025 Autonomy research. Eligible Worthing organisations should immediately review application criteria on the council portal and submit expressions of interest before the 30th September 2025 deadline to secure support resources.
Successful applicants will receive tailored implementation guidance from Worthing Borough Council’s flexible working team, including access to local case studies like Shoreham Port’s compressed schedule success. Rigorous monitoring of productivity metrics and employee wellbeing will occur throughout the trial using standardised UK assessment frameworks.
As this initiative progresses, its findings will directly influence regional employment policy development across West Sussex. Stakeholders should monitor the council’s business innovation newsletter for quarterly performance data and potential scheme expansions beyond the initial pilot phase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will council services like bin collection be reduced during the four day week trial?
No service reductions are planned; 89% of Worthing trial participants use staggered shifts to maintain coverage. Check the Worthing Borough Council service updates page for real-time schedules.
Could this trial lead to higher council tax bills for residents?
The trial requires 100% productivity maintenance with no current funding impact. Monitor financial reports via the council's 'Your Money Matters' portal quarterly.
How will the trial affect job opportunities at the council?
Early data shows 20% higher application rates in participating UK councils. Set job alerts on Worthing Borough Council's careers page for four-day-week roles.
