Vault City Brewing has officially become the first commercial brewery in the UK to move to a four-day working week.
The company's thirteen employees now work Monday to Thursday, reducing their hours by 20% without a reduction in compensation.
The Edinburgh-based brewery has grown in popularity thanks to its sour beers, which feature unusual flavours like raspberry coconut ripple and pineapple upside-down cake.
The aim is to promote a better work-life balance in staff. Many companies are seeing the benefits of changes like this, as well as perks like gym memberships and hybrid working. The resulting benefits include higher staff retention, productivity and employee satisfaction.
Charlotte Brooke, the brewery’s sales coordinator, said “I feel less tired, more mentally and emotionally well rested and generally just better. I don’t think I could go back to a five-day week now.”
Co-founder Steven Smith Hay says he has been thinking about a four-day working week since leaving the corporate life back in 2018, but it’s a big step. The brewing industry is infamous for long hours, and fermentation processes don’t naturally work as well on a four-day timetable.
Aside from this, the company has tripled in size over the last year, another factor that makes the move more complicated. Regardless, Smith Hay is determined to make it work. His advice is to be transparent with your team, as you won’t get it right straight away. It’s a big transition, so he recommends a staggered approach. It’s worth it though, as he has seen an increase in morale and productivity.
Recently, Belgium has made four-day weeks available to workers, although in this case the lost hours are made up across the four days.
A trial of a four-day week without pay reduction is set to take place in Scotland, and 30 businesses in England and Wales have already signed up for a similar trial later this year.
For more content in the Scottish capital, check out our guide to the best restaurants in Edinburgh.`