The Remote Work Gap in Legal Jobs
A recent study has uncovered a significant disparity in remote work adoption across industries, with the legal sector showing particularly low rates of fully remote job offerings.
Key Findings from the Remote-Friendly Industries Study
According to data from equity management platform Vestd, only 4.8% of the 6,323 new legal job listings in 2025 were fully remote. While this places the legal sector slightly above the national industry average of 4.75% (ranking 12th out of 29 industries analyzed), it reveals a concerning gap between employer offerings and employee preferences.
Industry Comparisons and Employee Demand
Financial services emerged as the most remote-friendly industry, with nearly a quarter of new roles offering remote options. In stark contrast, retail, manufacturing, and education scored lowest, with fewer than 1% of advertised positions providing remote working arrangements.
Across all 29 industries analyzed in Vestd's study, only 5,404 out of 113,874 new job listings were fully remote positions.
The Growing Demand for Flexibility
This limited availability of remote roles exists despite strong evidence of increasing demand for workplace flexibility. Google searches for 'UK remote jobs' reached 91,000 over the past year, compared to just 21,000 searches for 'office jobs UK'.
Currently, 23.2 million people in the UK already work from home at least part-time, and Vestd's research indicates this trend is becoming increasingly important to job seekers. Approximately one in six respondents to the company's 2025 Workplace Values Study reported that a lack of flexible options negatively impacts their work-life balance.
Expert Insights on the Remote Work Divide
Ifty Nasir, founder and CEO of Vestd, emphasized the risks employers face by ignoring worker preferences:
"The research from our Remote-friendly Industries Study shows a clear divide in job desirability within the market, with employees wanting more flexibility and freedom in their roles, while big organizations demand a somewhat 'grand' return to face-to-face office working."
"Those employers who take remote work seriously are gaining a real advantage. They can attract and keep hard-working staff by building teams based on collaborative and supportive work."
Nasir further warned that organizations ignoring employee preferences risk losing talent to more flexible competitors, stating:
"Remote working isn't just a nice-to-have anymore. It's becoming essential for people's work-life balance and overall wellbeing."
"Giving people the freedom to work how and where they perform will help to benefit everyone. Adapting to employees' needs doesn't just support wellbeing, it plays a key role in improving productivity and retaining skilled people."
Methodology and Further Information
The study utilized data from recruitment platform Reed in November 2025, filtering job listings by position type and remote working availability. For complete industry rankings and detailed findings, refer to The Remote Friendly Industries Study 2025: The top rankings.
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