Only 4.8% of the 6,323 new legal job listings in 2025 were fully remote, according to data shared by equity management platform Vestd.
And while the legal sector sits marginally above the national industry average of 4.75% – coming in at 12th place in Vestd’s ranking of 29 industries – job seekers cited remote working flexibility as the second most important factor when looking for a new role.
Financial services topped the list of remote-friendly jobs, with nearly a quarter of new roles offering the option. Retail, manufacturing and education all scored lowest, with fewer than 1% of the advertised roles offering remote working.
Of the 113,874 new job listings across 29 industries analysed in Vestd’s Remote-friendly Industries Study, only 5,404 positions were fully remote.
The limited availability of remote roles comes despite evidence of strong demand for flexibility, Vestd said. Google searches for ‘UK remote jobs’ reached 91,000 over the past year, compared to 21,000 searches for ‘office jobs UK’.
Around 23.2 million people in the UK already work from home at least part-time, which Vestd says is an increasingly important factor for job seekers: around one in six respondents to the company’s 2025 Workplace Values Study said a lack of flexible options harms their work-life balance.
Ifty Nasir, founder and chief executive of Vestd, said employers risk losing talent by ignoring worker preferences. He explained:
“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 organisations 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 also claimed organisations that ignore employee preferences risk losing talent to more flexible competitors. “Remote working isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore,” he explained.
“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.”
The study used data from recruitment platform Reed in November 2025, filtering job listings by position type and remote working availability.
