Microsoft has found Brits spend more than £2000 going to work if travel and meal costs are taken into account. Less than one third of UK knowledge workers – those who class an office as their primary work place – are allowed to work flexibly for just one day a week. But Microsoft says employees can save £500 if they’re allowed to do so.

Keystone Law, which turns over £5m, is a champion of flexible working. Its 65 lawyers don’t work in a central location; instead they beaver away from their own satellite office or from their client’s headquarters. According to Keystone Law’s research, the firm’s lawyers save £2,200 a year on travel and 1hr 20 minutes of their time each day.

Knight has worked hard to ensure his employees don’t miss out on the benefits of working in an office. “We’re rolling out a new infrastructure which essentially allows us to replicate, technology-wise, almost exactly the sort of environment our solicitors would experience if they were working from one office,” he says.

“We also make sure we arrange lots of social events – training days, dinners, lunches, parties. It means you can, in a very pleasant way, replicate very accurately the positive aspects of working under one roof while still managing to remove a great deal of the negatives aspects.”

Keystone Law’s flexible working practices save the firm a stack of cash on overheads and these savings are passed onto customers.Related articlesHow to create a virtual officeHomeworking: the future of business in BritainTop ten hottest entrepreneursPicture source

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