Telecoms giant BT has offered employees the chance to take longer holidays in exchange for reduced pay.
The firm, which announced a loss of £1.3 billion in the first quarter of the year, said the move would help it avoid making staff redundant.
In a statement, the FTSE 100 firm said: "BT is known for its progressive human resources policies with flexible working.
"Being one of the largest employers in the UK I think this is an extremely progressive way of managing costs during a recession, rather than making redundancies."
Some of the options available to staff include taking a year off in exchange for an up-front payment of a quarter of their annual salary, or a one-off payment of £1,000 in exchange for going part-time.
In May, BT announced plans to cut 15,000 jobs as it scaled back its operation in light of losses and the difficulties at its global services division.
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