Nearly 80% of KPMG’s 11,000 UK staff have applied to work a four-day week or take extended unpaid leave, according to a spokesman for the firm.

The flexible working scheme is designed to avoid redundancies at the accounting firm if the economy deteriorates further.

KPMG is not thought to be considering introducing the scheme imminently after making a strong start to the year, although the scheme could be introduced in the spring or summer, depending on economic conditions.

A KPMG spokesman said the flexible working scheme was a ‘contingency measure’. He added that high demand for the scheme ‘significantly reduces’ the prospect of redundancies at the firm, he added.

The deadline for applications for the scheme closed earlier this week.

Last week KPMG sweetened the terms of its flexible work offer in a bid to encourage more of its staff to sign up. Instead of docking a full day’s pay, KPMG said staff, including partners, would only lose 10% of their existing pay, on condition that 75% of staff agreed to take part.

The offer comes amid a wave of job cuts. Firms, including Deloitte, Grant Thornton and PKF, have announced plans to cut hundreds of jobs in expectation of slower revenue growth. KPMG shed around 90 staff from its corporate finance and transaction service teams last May.