Marking the 100 year anniversary of the weekend
1 May 2026 marks the 100-year anniversary of Ford Motor Company becoming the first major employer to adopt a 5-day, 40 hour working week.
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The weekend was officially born, but it took strong campaigns led by trade unions for this working pattern to become normalised across the world in the following decades.
To mark the one hundred year anniversary, the 4 Day Week Foundation - alongside trade unions, employers, workers and international partners - are launching a bold national campaign. Across towns and cities in the UK, we’ll celebrate securing the weekend, and show why the next great step - a new, standardised, four-day, 32 hour working week - is necessary, achievable and long overdue.
What's Happening?
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Flagship Rally at Ford’s Dagenham HQ, marking the birthplace of the five-day week legacy
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Nationwide Events in towns and cities, led by trade unions and partners
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Panel Discussions & Workshops on the shorter working week, organised with unions, employers, and allies
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International Week of Action - solidarity events with workers around the world pushing for shorter hours
be part of history
A century ago, the weekend was introduced. Over the following decades, workers banded together to make sure that everyone had access to two days of rest.
Now it’s our turn to collectivise and push things forward. Productivity has soared since the 1920s, yet our working hours have barely changed. It’s time the gains of progress were shared more fairly.
Join the campaign. Together we can win a four-day week, with no loss in pay!