A newly established IP-based communications network has seen the British government’s Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) enable many more of its employees to work from home.

The process is described as an "IT transformation programme" and has considerably increased the potential for flexible working among DWP staff, explains BT, the company behind the deployment.

A total of 35,000 operatives have been equipped with IP telephones across the DWP’s communications network and the department was recently able to handle one million calls in a single day.

"In order to provide universal IP telephony, BT has upgraded over 1,000 DWP sites connecting the existing legacy services to the converged wide and local area network," said Tim Smart, chief executive of BT Global Services UK.

"Together, these major milestones put into perspective the scale and quality of the programme, underlining BT’s ability to provide exceptional levels of service in partnership with the public," he added.

BT is among a host of prominent organisations backing the Work Wise UK initiative aimed at promoting home-based working around the country.