Could the recession spark a permanent shift to more flexible and family friendly forms of employment? Rachel Campbell, head of people at KPMG, hopes so.

In January, the professional services firm asked for volunteers among its 11,400 UK staff to work a four-day week or take a sabbatical of up to 12 weeks on one-third of their salary as a way of containing costs without losing skilled personnel. Eighty-five per cent said yes. It was a contingency plan, with how and whether to implement the deal left to management. Some 750 staff have now been taken up on one option or the other, mainly in tax but also in central services such as marketing and in advisory activities.