A cabinet minister has been accused of ‘hypocrisy’ after figures revealed almost one in ten of his civil servants are working four-day weeks despite a promised crackdown.

Communities Secretary Steve Reed wrote to all council leaders in England at the end of last year warning them not to introduce four-day working weeks.

But figures show 339 civil servants in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) are working four-day weeks on full pay, according to analysis by the Conservatives.

This is equivalent to 9 per cent of Mr Reed’s departmental staff working a four-day week on ‘compressed hours arrangements on full pay’.

Full-time MHCLG civil servants are required to work 37 hours per week or 36 if they joined before 2013.

Just before Christmas last year, the letter sent round to all council leaders said that he had hope he made the government’s policy on four-day weeks ‘unambiguously clear to all councils’, the Telegraph reported.

The letter continued: ‘Council staff undertaking part-time work for full-time pay without compelling justification would be considered an indicator, among a wide range of factors, of potential failure’. 

Tory shadow local government minister David Simmonds said: ‘This is blatant hypocrisy from Labour’s Housing Secretary, who is unable or unwilling to enforce his approach to the four-day week in his own department.’

Communities Secretary Steve Reed has been accused of hypocrisy after it was revealed he allowed his department’s staff work a four day week despite saying councils who do the same would be seen as a ‘potential failure’

It is not the first time that the minister has been accused of hypocrisy.

He was branded a ‘NIMBY’ after the housing secretary tried to block a housing development in his own constituency in 2024 despite saying he wanted to ‘build, baby, build’, the Telegraph revealed.

An MHCLG spokesman said: ‘The figures show staff doing five days’ worth of working hours for five days’ pay.’