Companies in UK starting four-day work week, any cue for India to opt for same soon?

New Delhi: With the Covid-19 pandemic throwing usual office and personal life out of gear, a new pilot project (six-month long program) has been signed by over 30 companies in the United Kingdom for a four-day work week. 

The trial program will begin in June, while the participating companies will allow employees to work for 32 hours per week. This, however, will not affect teh compensation and employee benefits of the workers, said a Bloomberg report.

The Bloomberg report further added that companies that have signed up for the pilot project will ask employees to these 32 hours have to be allocated over the work week.

A lot of it is similar with India's New Wage Code.

The four labour codes on wages, social security, industrial relations and occupation safety, health and working conditions are likely to be implemented by the next fiscal year, a senior official had told news agency PTI a couple of weeks ago. Once implemented, the new wage code will impact working hours, salary restructuring and PF contribution among the prominent ones.

Experts also believe that the new draft will impact the working hours of employees with some media reports saying that employees may be allowed a four-day work week from next fiscal, but they will have to work for 12 hours on those four days. The labour ministry has apparently made it clear that 48-hour weekly work requirement is a must.