Professionals, including lawyers, are making more requests to work flexibly than expected since the introduction of the Employment Act 2002 sanctioned such requests in April this year, data gathered by City law firm Lovells has shown.

Of 500 employers - including small companies and blue-chips - which responded to the survey, 44% said clerical workers had applied for flexible hours, but 27% said professionals, including lawyers, had applied.

Lovells conducted the survey with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

The survey showed that more than a quarter of respondents (28%) said they had received more requests for flexible working in the six months since its introduction.

More than two-thirds (68%) said flexible working legislation was a good thing, while three-quarters said the new legislation had had a negligible impact on their business, and almost all (90%) said implementation had been straightforward.

Jeremy Fleming