Corona boffins suggest banning weekends to get country back to work after lockdown

6 May 2020, 11:14 | Updated: 6 May 2020, 12:04

A new report on how workplaces could operate when the coronavirus lockdown is lifted has been released.

Weekends for some workers might be moved from Saturdays and Sundays to different weekdays under new proposals to get the UK back to work.

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A study - which has not been confirmed to be part of government post-lockdown policy - from Imperial College London chemical biologist Professor Keith Willison for the Adam Smith Institute recommends that staff are split into two groups who work different shift patterns that never overlap.

The Sun reports that the proposed plan would put an end to traditional Saturday and Sunday weekend, and instead see staff take two days' weekend in accordance with the shift pattern.

It states that one group of staff could work four days in the office, followed by 10 days home-working.

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This could be followed by the second group working four consecutive days the next week, then following the same pattern.

This plan could also be applied to schools, according to the report, and see kids take on the same shift patterns as their parents so as to help with childcare issues.

The report claims that this new way of operating could minimise the risk a second peak of the virus, and enable individuals to return to work safely.

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It is not known if the proposed plan will be part of government's post-lockdown plan, however, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to announce his 'roadmap' on getting the public back to work this Sunday.

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