Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure – Winner 2019, Best for Embedded Flexibility

Incorporating greater flexibility to job roles and regularly communicating the benefits of flexible working to staff means more than 60 per cent of employees now work flexibly, and job applications have increased by 38 per cent. 

Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure – Winner 2019, Best Returner Programme

A successful returnship programme aimed at all genders, ages, disciplines and levels of experience is discovering and developing skilled employees for roles that usually suffer from a shortage of good candidates.

Arnold Clark – Finalist 2019, Best Innovation

The automotive company offers bespoke flexible working arrangements including flexitime, 4-on, 4-off shift patterns, compressed hours, day shift, twilight shift, night shift, home working, and an industry-leading 5-day sales week for product consultants.  

Response IT Services – Finalist 2019, Best for Fathers

A small firm where flexible working is the norm for all fathers and is modelled by the three (male) directors, who accommodate family activities around their work.

Arnold Clark – Winner 2019, Best for Flexible Recruitment

Switching to a five-day working week rather than the automotive standard of six, and using social media to showcase flexible work patterns of a diverse range of employees has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of women recruited.

Barclays – Finalist 2019, Best Returner Programme

The Encore! Programme, which is promoted widely, features high levels of support for returners before, during and after the programme. This includes an employee network for returners to support each other and learn new skills. 

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield – Winner 2019, Best for Fathers

Fathers benefit from four weeks’ fully paid paternity leave, which they can use flexibly and is available from day one of employment. Enhanced shared parental pay of three months at full pay and three months at half pay was taken up by 31% of eligible fathers in 2018 and flexible working requests from men are routinely approved.

Suffolk County Council – Finalist 2019, Best Flexible Working Initiative

Showcasing senior men and women employees who work flexibly in a variety of ways, talking realistically and practically about the challenges and benefits of flexible working, has helped normalise flexibility.

MHA Larking Gowen – Winner 2019, Best Flexible Working Initiative

Encouraging flexible hours and remote working from home or client offices along with an office redesign to create quiet space, hot desks and collaborative space has increased chargeable time while reducing sickness and absenteeism, staff turnover and costly overtime.

FYXER – Finalist 2019, Best for Mothers

A small organisation that consulted employees and created enhanced maternity provision based on feedback.

Sky – Finalist 2019, Best Family Network

More than 4,000 parents and carers share experiences and are successfully changing company culture so employees feel at ease talking about their family responsibilities and flexible working. 

Global Witness – Finalist 2019, Best Flexible Working Initiative

Giving employees control over how they manage their daily hours and where they work has increased wellbeing among staff.

Slalom – Finalist 2019, Best Small Employer

A small professional services firm with a general manager who talks about the importance of family and is seen to leave early for family occasions.

9-2-3 Jobs – Finalist 2019, Best Small Employer

At this recruitment firm, flexible hours and remote working are offered at the point of hire and flexibility is the norm for all staff.

Response IT – Winner 2019, Best Small Employer

Open to flexibility from day one and happy to discuss changes to working patterns at any time, the company finds solutions to keep talent while still meeting customer service level agreements. Employee turnover is very low and the business continues to grow. 

Freestyle – Finalist 2019, Best Embedded Flexibility

This digital agency offers flexibility over hours and location from day one and is constantly seeking and listening to employee feedback.

Deloitte – Commended 2019, Best for Embedded Flexibility

A top-down culture supports flexible working, which is common among employees.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield – Finalist 2019, Best for Mental Health & Wellbeing

Mental health training for managers and the creation of mental health champions supports mental wellbeing. Champions deliberately include employees who work on the company’s construction sites.

QBE – Finalist 2019, Best for Mental Health & Wellbeing

An employee network addresses physical and mental health challenges at work and aims to give members of staff the confidence to speak up and ask for help if they need it.

Financial Ombudsman Service – Winner 2019, Best for Mental Health & Wellbeing

A wide range of activities and communications to de-stigmatise mental health, with mental health first aiders, ‘boosting resilience sessions’ and tips on how to start a conversation about mental health has helped to drive down sickness absence rates. 

Royal Bank of Scotland – Winner 2019, Best Family Network

A global Families and Carers Network with 1250 members - including 250 members of a new Fertility and Loss group – offers peer support, including attending meetings with employees and line managers to ensure discretionary policies are applied consistently. 

Barclays – Winner 2019, Best for Mothers

Offering enhanced maternity pay available from ‘day one’, support for employees undergoing fertility treatment, mandatory training for managers, a Parenting Portal, coaching and flexible working mean 90 per cent of mothers return after having their baby.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield – Winner 2019, Best for Line Managers

URW provides a comprehensive range of measures to ensure line managers are supported and supportive. This includes one-to-one guidance from HR, checklists, and training in supporting employees transitioning into caring, and managing flexible workers.

Barclays – Finalist 2019, Best Family Network

The bank’s Working Families Network events are attended by thousands of employees and are available to watch online afterwards.  

Centrica – Winner 2019, Best for Carers and Eldercare

Carers leave of 10 paid days, as well as an additional 10 paid days if employees match each additional day with annual leave helps staff deal with planned and emergency caring situations. While a formal ‘carers declaration’ with HR means the company is better understanding its workforce and support remains even if line managers change.

Allen & Overy – Finalist 2019, Best Returner Programme

The programme, called ‘I’m Back’, allows both former lawyers and practice support staff from the firm to complete returnship placements with suitable teams.

Deloitte – Finalist 2019, Best for Mental Health and Wellbeing

Well established senior-level ‘mental health champions’ and stories from senior leaders who have experienced mental health issues are helping normalise the previously taboo issue.

Barclays – Finalist 2019, Best for Carers and Eldercare

Employees have access to carers leave of up to a normal week in every 12 months for those with a year's service. Or reasonable brief amounts of unpaid leave if they've been with the company less time.

Mum & You – Finalist 2019, Best for Mothers

This mother & baby company is as innovative in the ways it looks after its employees as in the products it designs.

Waltham Forest Council – Winner 2019, Best Innovation

Extended maternity and paternity leave with full pay is offered to employees who have a baby born prematurely for the time the baby is in hospital up to the original due date.  

Deloitte – Commended 2019, Best for Fathers

The professional services firm offers fathers enhanced paternity pay and enhanced shared parental leave (SPL) pay. A total of 143 fathers took SPL in 2018.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield – Finalist 2019, Best for Mothers

Enhanced maternity and shared parental leave provision, maternity buddy, coaching and line manger training ensure mothers feel supported throughout their pregnancy, maternity leave and returning to work.

Suffolk County Council – Finalist 2019, Best for Flexible Recruitment

Introducing a mandatory step to the recruitment process that requires hiring managers to consider how a job could be done flexibly means around 60% of jobs are now advertised with specific flexible options. Almost none were advertised with specific flexible options in 2017.

Natwest Markets – Finalist 2019, Best for Returners

A paid 12-week ‘Comeback’ programme for senior returners across all areas of the bank includes mentoring, coaching and networking opportunities.

LUC – 2019 Scottish Top Employers

LUC is an organisation that truly recognises the importance of advertising flexible jobs.

Previse – 2019 Scottish Top Employers

At Previse the winning formula for a great working culture is rooted in diversity.

Virgin Money – 2019 Scottish Top Employers

‘The baby app’ was created in-house by a number of talented individuals from across all areas of the business.

PKAVS – Scottish Top Third Sector Employer 2019

PKAVS is a small charity providing services for over 5000 people across Perth & Kinross.

Arnold Clark – 2019 Scottish Top Employers (large private sector)

Arnold Clark is breaking the mould when it comes to flexible working in the automotive trade.

Deloitte – Winner 2019 Scottish Top Employers (large private sector)

The Deloitte approach to flexible and family friendly working is all about; trust, output and good communication.

Bank of England – Finalist 2024, Best for Fathers, sponsored by Rolls-Royce

For the Bank of England, supporting fathers is a crucial building block to ensuring individuality is valued and potential is reached. A robust family leave allowance enables families to make their own decisions about a child’s care in the first year and gender-neutral policies promote equality.  

Louise Haffenden, URW – Finalist 2024, Family-Friendly Champion, sponsored by Arnold Clark

Louise Haffenden is the People Director at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), whose top-down approach and passion to drive positive change, combined with a determination to deliver results, has made a tangible difference to the culture and people of the organisation. 

University of Strathclyde – Joint Winner 2021, Best Covid-19 Response

The University of Strathclyde employs more than 4,000 staff. The organisation started an agile working pilot in May 2019 with around a quarter of staff working flexibly before the pandemic. Covid-19 accelerated the roll out of agile working and during 2020 all staff worked flexibly.

Zurich UK – Finalist 2020, Best for Flexible Working

Wates – Finalist 2020, Best for Mental Health and Wellbeing

Independent Living Fund Scotland – Winner 2020, Best Small Employer

Offering ‘life-friendly’ flexibility to all employees means that ILF Scotland has happy employees and very low sickness absence. This is despite the organisation—which provides financial awards to more than 4,000 disabled people in Scotland and Northern Ireland—actively recruiting people with long-term health conditions and impairments.  

Zurich UK – Finalist 2020, Best for Fathers

Unibail Rodamco Westfield – Commended 2020, Best for Fathers

Aviva – Winner 2020, Best for Fathers

Santander – Finalist 2020, Best Family Network

Nationwide – Winner 2020, Best for Carers and Eldercare

Scottish Water – Winner 2020 – Scottish Top Employer Awards (Public Sector)

Scottish Water is a public sector organisation providing vital water and wastewater utility services across Scotland, enabled by a workforce of 4200 employees.  

Edinburgh Airport – Winner 2020 – Scottish Top Employers Awards (Health and Wellbeing)

Edinburgh Airport is Scotland's busiest airport ensuring thousands of passengers reach their destinations each day safely and with the best customer experience.  

Scout’s Scotland – Winner 2020 – Scottish Top Employers Awards (Third Sector)

Scout’s Scotland understands that people need to be able to balance work and life at home in a healthy way.