No more than 40 per cent of small firms provide their staff with opportunities to work from home, compared to 76 per cent of large companies, a new study has shown.

Citrix Online, a provider of remote desktop access services, commissioned research which revealed that most small companies lag behind larger firms and are missing out on the benefits flexible working practices can offer, including increased productivity and staff retention.

Only 11 per cent of small businesses operated job sharing schemes compared to 43 per cent of larger companies, and they were also far less likely to allow employees to adjust their start and finish times.

Citrix Online warned that the small business sector is in danger of falling further behind. Only 43 per cent of small firms had any technologies supporting remote site working in place, while only one in five employers had any plans to introduce such technology in the next three years.

Simon Presswell, marketing director at Citrix Online, said: "Perhaps the most surprising finding of this research is that SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses), who often have greater operational flexibility than their corporate competitors, are failing to seize the opportunity offered by flexible working.

"Given the importance of flexible working practices in attracting and retaining the best talent, SMBs are in danger of missing out on the most skilled professionals, many of whom are parents and are increasingly demanding work-life balance."

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).