The choice to work from home or adopt a more flexible routine are some of the top concerns for working mothers in the UK, according to a new survey.

Employment advice website WorkingMums interviewed 1,677 people across the country, finding that the recession and a rise in redundancies have not dented mothers' desire to be able to work from home.

Although the percentage of women who have lost their jobs has increased from 14 per cent to 27 per cent in the last year, more than three-quarters of those polled revealed that having a flexible schedule is still their priority.

Some 45 per cent of women admitted they had considered setting up their own business to satisfy their desire to work flexibly or from home.

Gillian Nissim, founder of the WorkingMums site, said flexibility is "the key issue" employers must confront if they want to retain the skills offered by working mothers.

"The recession has not reduced the urgency of this issue for working parents and employers who want to be prepared for the eventual upturn in the economy would do well to listen to their voices rather than risk losing them to more forward-thinking rivals," she concluded.