The search for family-friendly employers is nearly over

Forty-four outstanding UK organisations have been shortlisted across 9 categories in the 2010 Top Employers for Working Families Awards. The awards, organised by leading work-life balance charity Working Families are uniquely validated by independent human resource centre, the Institute for Employment Studies and recognise organisations that implement the best family-friendly policies. The winners will be announced at an awards luncheon on 19 October 2010 at a top venue in London. In addition, the Top Employers for Working Families A-Z benchmarking report will also be published, listing the best 30 employers in the UK for working families.

With 40 per cent of the workforce having responsibilities for dependents – either children or parents, it is becoming increasingly important for organisations to recognise their employees’ personal commitments: research from Working Families demonstrates that those employers who help their employees achieve a healthy work life balance, benefit from improved recruitment & retention as well as increased workforce productivity as staff feel better valued.

Sarah Jackson, CEO of Working Families says:

“Policy statements and carefully worded entries are not enough to achieve ‘Top Employers for Working Families’ status. The application process was carefully constructed to ensure that we only reward forward-thinking organisations that have a holistic approach to employing their staff and truly embed family-friendly working practise into their culture.

“The Top Employers for Working Families Awards are now in their second year and we are pleased to have received entries from new organisations as well as many of those who entered last year – reflecting the significance of the issues that these awards address.”

Award categories and finalists

1. Innovation Special Award Shortlist:

• Citi
• Ministry of Justice
• PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
• Sysdoc Limited
• The Co-operative Group

2. Best for Flexible Working Shortlist:

• American Express Services Europe Ltd
• BT Group
• Castlebeck
• Centrica Plc
• Henmans LLP
• KPMG
• McDonald’s Restaurants
• Plinkfizz Limited
• Sysdoc Limited
• The Royal Bank of Scotland

3. Best for Maternity Shortlist:

• Bradford & Airedale NHS
• Citi
• Deutsche Bank
• Ford Motor Company
• Mayer Brown
• The Royal Bank of Scotland

4. Best for Fathers Shortlist:

• Bradford & Airedale NHS
• BT Group
• Castlebeck
• Centrica Plc
• Nationwide Building Society
• Registers of Scotland

5. Best for Carers/Dependent Care Support Shortlist:

• Castlebeck
• Centrica Plc
• HM Revenue and Customs
• Ministry of Justice
• The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

6. Best Emergency Childcare (Including back-up/emergency/atypical/flexible childcare support) Shortlist:

• Deloitte LLP
• The Royal Bank of Scotland
• Workplace Options

7. Best Implementation of Childcare Voucher Scheme Shortlist:

• Deutsche Bank
• Nationwide Building Society
• PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

8. Best Recruitment Policy for Parents and Carers Shortlist:

• Castlebeck
• ITV Plc
• Nationwide Building Society
• Plinkfizz Limited

9. Best for Career Progression for Parents and Carers Shortlist:

• Castlebeck
• Henmans LLP

Judging Panel

The judging panel comprises Prof Cary Cooper CBE; Craig Jones MBE, Global Head of Diversity at Barclays Wealth; Mary Mercer, Principal Consultant, Institute for Employment Studies; James Timpson, Timpsons and Sarah Jackson OBE, Chief Executive, Working Families.