Human resources has emerged as one of the UK’s least remote-friendly professions, with fewer than three percent of new HR roles advertised as fully remote, according to new analysis of job market data.
It suggests that, despite widespread employee demand for flexibility, many HR employers are offering far fewer remote opportunities than organisations in other sectors.
The research was carried out by Vestd, a UK share scheme and equity management platform, as part of a Remote-friendly Industries Study. The company examined more than 113,000 job listings posted in 2025 across 29 different industries to assess how often fully remote working was available.
HR ‘lags well behind national average’
Across all sectors analysed, around five percent of new job listings were described as fully remote. But in HR, the proportion was far lower.
Out of 2,241 new HR vacancies reviewed, only 2.9 percent were advertised as remote roles. That placed HR significantly below the national industry average of 4.75 percent and among the least flexible professions in the study.
The figures underline a growing mismatch between what many workers say they want and what employers are currently offering.
Interest in remote work remains strong. Google Trends data examined as part of the research showed around 91,000 searches for UK remote jobs over the past year, compared with just 21,000 searches for office jobs.
At the same time, official estimates suggest 23.2 million people in Britain work from home at least part-time, indicating that hybrid and remote arrangements have become embedded for a large section of the workforce.
Return-to-office policies meet employee resistance
The limited availability of remote HR roles comes against a backdrop of increasing pressure from some major employers to bring staff back to the office.
High-profile organisations including Amazon, Boots and parts of the Civil Service have all introduced policies requiring more regular in-person attendance in recent years.
However, separate surveys indicate that flexibility remains a key factor for jobseekers. One recent study found it was the second most important consideration when choosing a job, with around one in six respondents saying a lack of flexible options harmed their work-life balance.
Analysts warn that organisations which reduce flexibility too sharply risk seeing employees leave in search of roles that better fit their personal circumstances.
‘Big differences’ between industries
The study found that access to remote work varies dramatically depending on sector.
Financial services emerged as the most remote-friendly industry in 2025, with almost a quarter of new roles advertised as fully remote. Leisure and tourism, insurance, sales and estate agency work also performed relatively well, each offering between 11 percent and 20 percent of roles remotely.
By contrast, more operational and hands-on sectors offered very few remote opportunities. Retail recorded the lowest figure of all, with just 0.07 percent of roles listed as remote. Manufacturing, motoring, social care, transport and education also offered fewer than one percent of positions on a remote basis.
The data suggests that, while some differences reflect the practical realities of certain jobs, there are also wide variations between sectors where remote working is technically possible.
Top five most remote-friendly industries
- Financial Services – 24.62 percent of roles remote
- Leisure and Tourism – 20.35 percent
- Insurance – 17.77 percent
- Sales – 13.63 percent
- Estate Agency – 11.47 percent
- Five least remote-friendly industries
- Retail – 0.07 percent
- Manufacturing – 0.44 percent
- Motoring and Automotive – 0.61 percent
- Social Care – 0.62 percent
- Transport and Logistics – 0.65 percent
HR, with 2.95 percent of roles remote, sat in the lower half of the table alongside engineering, health and customer service.
Flexibility linked to attraction and retention
Ifty Nasir, founder and chief executive of Vestd, said the research pointed to a clear divide between employee expectations and employer behaviour.
“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,” he said.
He said employers offering flexibility were gaining a competitive advantage. “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 warned that ignoring those preferences could be costly. “On the other hand, organisations that ignore what their employees want only risk losing talent to competitors who will instead be offering the flexibility which many workers are now expecting.”
He said attitudes to flexibility had changed permanently. “Remote working isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore, it’s becoming essential for people’s work-life balance and overall wellbeing.”
What it means for HR teams
The findings pose an awkward challenge for HR departments in particular. While HR professionals are often responsible for designing flexible working policies and advising on hybrid strategies, the data suggests their own roles are less likely than many others to be offered remotely.
That may make recruitment and retention harder in a field where competition for experienced practitioners is already strong.
Analysts say organisations that want to attract modern HR talent may need to rethink assumptions about where and how those teams need to operate.
Vestd analysed 113,874 job advertisements posted on the Reed recruitment platform in November 2025. Listings were filtered by industry and by whether they were described as fully remote.
The national industry average of 4.75 percent was calculated by dividing the total number of remote jobs by the total number of job listings across all sectors.
Average salaries were also examined to explore whether pay levels influenced the likelihood of remote working, and Google Trends data was used to compare public interest in remote jobs with interest in office-based roles.
William Furney is a Managing Editor at Black and White Trading Ltd based in Kingston upon Hull, UK. He is a prolific author and contributor at Workplace Wellbeing Professional, with over 127 published posts covering HR, employee engagement, and workplace wellbeing topics. His writing focuses on contemporary employment issues including pension schemes, employee health, financial struggles affecting workers, and broader workplace trends.
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
