Businesses have warned the Green Party that the introduction of a four-day work week will leave them crippled and result in higher prices for consumers, writes Sarah McGuinness.

Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman yesterday said the party would establish a Citizens’ Assembly to examine the introduction of a four-day work week if returned to power.

However, business groups have branded the move as “unfeasible” and “out of touch” and warn it would come at an “enormous” cost to the taxpayer and drive up prices.

A “conservative” estimate from the Department of Public Expenditure shows that implementing the model in the public sector alone could cost €5bn each year.

Mr O’Gorman said flexible and remote work had achieved a better work/life balance for people, and it was now time to “take the next steps forward”.

Launching the Green Party’s work/life balance policy document, Mr O’Gorman said yesterday that figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) suggest that about a quarter of workers feel they get inadequate amount of leisure time and time with their families, and that a Citizens’ Assembly would help “tease out” complexities surrounding a four-day work week.

“We want to continue this effort to broaden out access to leisure time, broaden out access to caring time and benefit from technological changes, AI changes, and make sure that those changes are benefiting workers in the same way that they’re often benefiting their companies,” he said.

The concept of a four-day work week has been trialled globally, including among a small selection of Irish firms.

A 2022 pilot project, backed by the union Fórsa and carried out in partnership by Four-Day Week Ireland, University College Dublin and Boston College, was labelled a “resounding success” by the trade union.

Industry groups, however, have warned blanket implementation could have major consequences for consumers and businesses.

Employers’ group Ibec noted high rates of employment in Ireland mean recruiting additional staff would be “challenging and expensive in multiple sectors,” including childcare, healthcare and manufacturing.

This would lead to an “increase in the cost of essential services”.

The group noted that Irish multinationals operating in jurisdictions where a five-day work week is not in place would face “significant challenges to operations and competitiveness”.

Neil McDonnell, chief executive of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME), said that a fall in the average number of working hours from 40 hours to 32 hours will mean a 20% productivity gap for businesses.

He said: “There are certain jobs where this gap can be easily filled. Some back-office jobs operate on a known schedule of work, for example, and it’s either on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis.

“And in those cases you can lift productivity levels and you can deliver a five-day service in four days. But you can’t do that in a restaurant.

“You can’t do that in a barber shop or a hairdresser. You can’t do it in a nursing home or a childcare facility. It’s horses for courses.”

Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI), warned that a four-day week “does not make business sense” for employers and is “out of touch with the common, decent business owner”.

He said price increases would inevitably follow in services that operate seven days a week.

However, Mr McDonnell noted that the proposal has been made in an election campaign.

“Bluntly, we don’t take this sort of thing seriously during the election cycle, it’s not going to happen,” he said.

Research conducted last year by Hays Recruitment found 95% of professionals would favour a four-day working week, while three-quarters of Irish workers would consider moving job to avail of a shorter week.

The Green Party denied that the proposal to examine the model was a ploy to win back voters.

“I think it speaks to the work we’ve already done in this government in terms of trying to help workers balance their work/life responsibilities with their caring responsibilities as well,” Mr O’Gorman said.

He acknowledged that “small businesses are struggling”, but said that other policies in his party’s manifesto, such as the introductions of rate rebates for SMEs, will “address their specific needs”.

The Green leader also stated that his party had not costed the financial implications of a four-day work week on the country’s economy.

“What we’re proposing is a Citizens’ Assembly to tease out these issues, to examine it in detail. We’re not talking about immediate implementation,” Mr O’Gorman said.

Taoiseach Simon Harris, meanwhile, said Fine Gael is not in favour of a four-day working week.

While Tánaiste Michéal Martin did not directly say he was opposed to the move, he stated that Fianna Fáil is a “pro-enterprise” party.

Speaking in the Dáil in February, Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said there would be “substantial costs associated” with any move towards a four-day working week in the public service.

He added: “A very high level assessment based on the pay bill for 2024 puts the approximate estimated cost at up to €5bn per annum.”