Desperate Times: UK Mulls 3-Day Week

Gov't may compensate workers to avoid higher cost of mass layoffs
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 25, 2009 10:39 AM CST
Desperate Times: UK Mulls 3-Day Week
PM Gordon Brown. center, speaks at the Regional Economic Council, with Secretary of State for Business and Enterprise Peter Mandelson, left, and Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, Jan. 5.   (AP Photo/ Lewis Whyld)

Now officially in recession amid the global downturn, the specter of a three-day work week has emerged in Britain, the Independent reports. Though officials say it’s "not imminent," the government has discussed paying firms to cut hours with public cash going toward compensating employees for the lost time. But such a move could hurt already-flagging confidence in the economy.
(More Britain stories.)

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