Question about moving to a four day week

P

peterwilson

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Hi
Currently on a five day week and thinking of moving to a four day week.
My HR dept has asked "Could you please confirm if you plan to keep working 100% of the time (so 39 hours per week) and compress them to 4 days? Or do you plan to reduce the working time to part-time (e.g. 32 hours) and then compress it to 4-day week?"

Any advice appreciated around tax implications etc.

Thanks
P
 
There’s no tax implications to 100% working in 4 days.
Obv you’d be down 20% gross salary if you moved to a traditional 4 day week but can’t say what tax savings would be as would depend on tax credits and income tax bands. But I would guess around 15% down on net income - that’s a total guess!
 
Not what you asked but that is answered by other poster. I moved to a 4 day week once, I would love to have had the option of still doing same hours in the compressed 4 days but that wasn't on offer. What I found though was that the work was just left for me to do anyway and I was really pretty much working 5 days compressed into 4 and getting paid 20% less. So depending on the role and whether or not your job will be covered totally by someone else on your missing day that's something to consider. I went back to 5 days after about 6 months as it just wasn't worth it to me.
 
Monbretia said:
Not what you asked but that is answered by other poster. I moved to a 4 day week once, I would love to have had the option of still doing same hours in the compressed 4 days but that wasn't on offer. What I found though was that the work was just left for me to do anyway and I was really pretty much working 5 days compressed into 4 and getting paid 20% less. So depending on the role and whether or not your job will be covered totally by someone else on your missing day that's something to consider. I went back to 5 days after about 6 months as it just wasn't worth it to me.
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That’s a common experience and one to be wary of. If your work is of the type that can be left until you come back, that’s exactly what will happen.

If you’re just looking for a day a week away from work, the option of working your 39 hours in just 4 days might be more attractive but it will be tiring over a prolonged period.
 
peterwilson said:
Hi
Currently on a five day week and thinking of moving to a four day week.
My HR dept has asked "Could you please confirm if you plan to keep working 100% of the time (so 39 hours per week) and compress them to 4 days? Or do you plan to reduce the working time to part-time (e.g. 32 hours) and then compress it to 4-day week?"

Any advice appreciated around tax implications etc.

Thanks
P
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If you are reducing your hours as against working fulltime hours it will affect your pension. Working fulltime over four days will not affect your pension entitlement.
 
Hi Peter, I reduced my hours approx 2 years ago to work a 4 day week. My holidays & pension entitlements therefore reduced by 20%
I work in public sector so I still have the benefit of Flexi time but I would have lost that benefit if I had compressed entire working week into 4 days.
It's probably one of the best decisions I ever made, if you can afford it, go for it.
 
Hi Peter, I too went to a 4 day week 4 years ago. I retire next year. I definitely did not want 5 days compressed to 4. Work is busier now as there is no one to do my work, so I just do what I can in 4 days. The day off has improved my quality of life and and it was the best thing I ever did. Yes, salary went down but not by 20% as am higher rate tax payer. I loose 0.2 of a year prsi/ pension contribution , so 1year over the five year period leading up to retirement but i can cope with that. I am actually thinking of going to 3 days a week next year if the boss allows.
 
Hi Peter, I too went to a 4 day week 4 years ago. I retire next year. I definitely did not want 5 days compressed to 4. Work is busier now as there is no one to do my work, so I just do what I can in 4 days. The day off has improved my quality of life and and it was the best thing I ever did. Yes, salary went down but not by 20% as am higher rate tax payer. I loose 0.2 of a year prsi/ pension contribution , so 1year over the five year period leading up to retirement but i can cope with that. I am actually thinking of going to 3 days a week next year if the boss allows.
 
peterwilson said:
Any advice appreciated around tax implications etc.
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There are no tax implications per se from either option. Your PRSI record will stay the same.

If you are a public sector worker your superannuation contributions will slow down by 20%. That's a lot, and something you should be aware of.

I tried a four-day week years ago for a few months and still ended up doing five days' work. So be careful about how you manage it all!
 
Monbretia said:
Not what you asked but that is answered by other poster. I moved to a 4 day week once, I would love to have had the option of still doing same hours in the compressed 4 days but that wasn't on offer. What I found though was that the work was just left for me to do anyway and I was really pretty much working 5 days compressed into 4 and getting paid 20% less. So depending on the role and whether or not your job will be covered totally by someone else on your missing day that's something to consider. I went back to 5 days after about 6 months as it just wasn't worth it to me.
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This is quite common unfortunately, be wary of it, depends on the role obviously
 
39 hours in 4 days might be a struggle. Assuming a start time of 8am and a 1/2 hour unpaid lunch means your finish time would be 6.15pm. If you have a longish commute, it might be fine.
 
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