More and more businesses are taking advantage of broadband for flexible working, a study has found.

Research by the telecommunications group Orange disclosed that almost two thirds of companies in the UK offer home-based working to their employees.

In addition, the investigation also discovered that a quarter of organisations that take part provide staff members with a high-speed internet connection for this purpose.

Paul Tollet, Vice President of Business at Orange UK, said: "It's great that over half the UK working population is able to take advantage of flexible working.

"But the fact that over 35 per cent of employers have yet to consider it is surprising, particularly when the benefits are well acknowledged."

The survey also found that there was a "digital divide" among male and female employees, with men a fifth more likely to be given access to technology required for flexible working.

Orange's latest Digital Media Index, published in May, revealed that subscriptions to dongle-based broadband packages had risen by more than 4,000 per cent in the last year.