Four-day work week becomes a reality for Oxfam Australia after deal with ... trends now Four-day work week becomes a reality for one Aussie company as a survey finds 61 per cent of workers regard the idea of fewer hours as 'important' Oxfam Australia has agreed a four-day week Deal comes after a union bargaining agreement Oxfam will run the new scheme as a six-month pilot By Danyal Hussain For Daily Mail Australia Published: 05:27 GMT, 23 March 2023 | Updated: 05:27 GMT, 23 March 2023 Viewcomments An Australian company has become the first to have a four-day week after a landmark bargaining agreement. Workers at Oxfam Australia will be able to work just four days a week after the company agreed to a deal with the Australian Services Union. The employee bargaining agreement will allow permanent full-time employees who are working 35 hours a week to have their hours reduced to 30 over four days, without losing any pay. Oxfam will run the new scheme as a six-month pilot to see how it impacts the workforce. It has 97 full-time workers in Australia and 37 part-time employees. The employee bargaining agreement will allow permanent full-time employees who are working 35 hours a week to have their hours reduced to 30 over four days with the same pay (stock image) Permanent part-time employees will have their working hours and entitlements pro-rated against a 30 hour full-time load. ASU Victorian Private Sector Branch secretary Imogen Sturni hailed the move. 'A four-day, 30-hour work week is a win-win for Oxfam and its staff,' she told 9 News. 'It is pleasing to see Oxfam publicly recognising productivity comes in different forms and that work-life balance is essential for workers' mental and physical health. 'When a worker is well supported and has the flexibility at work that they need in order to keep up with the varying demands in their lives, they actually perform better in their jobs.' The Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) will be voted on between March 31 and April 4, but it's expected to garner a lot of support. The deal is the first of its kind affecting full-time workers in Australia to be formalised within an EBA. However, a study from jobs site Indeed previously found the number of job ads mentioning a four-day work week increased in recent years. Oxfam will run the new scheme as a six-month pilot to see how it impacts the workforce Advocates of the four-day week have said that the five-day pattern is a 'hangover' from an earlier economic age. They also argue that a four-day-week would drive more companies to improve their productivity, meaning they can create the same output, just in fewer hours. 'In October, 0.8 per cent of job postings on Indeed mention '4 day work week' or some other variation of that term,' Indeed senior economist Callam Pickering said. 'That's up from 0.6 per cent in October last year, 0.5 per cent in October 2020 and 0.4 per cent in October 2019. Over the past three years, the share of postings mentioning a four-day work week has more than doubled [up by 107 per cent].' The data comes after a study of 2,003 Aussie workers and job seekers revealed 61 per cent thought a four-day work week would be 'increasingly important' to them in the next two years. Bosses say they're open to introducing a four-day work week, with 70 per cent saying they were 'very' to 'fairly comfortable' with the idea. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility