Flexible working was considered ‘very important’ by the 1,700 working mums surveyed in the annual survey by workingmums.co.uk, a job site for working mums.

Although significantly more women had been made redundant over the past year – up from 14% last year to 27% this year – over three quarters [79%] of the women surveyed said they needed flexible jobs.

Offering part-time work and flexibility around emergency cover or school holidays was the next priority for working mums, followed by support for childcare.

Surprisingly just under a third [31%] considered extended maternity pay a sign of a family friendly employer.