Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Equality, diversity and inclusionShared parental leaveLatest NewsFamily-friendly workingFlexible working

UK’s most family-friendly workplaces revealed

by Jo Faragher 12 Sep 2018
by Jo Faragher 12 Sep 2018 WestEnd61/REX/Shutterstock
WestEnd61/REX/Shutterstock

The charity Working Families has published a list of the UK’s most family-friendly workplaces.

The top ten employers include banks, law firms and even the Crown Prosecution Service.

Family-friendly working

Flexible working: good practice manual

Supporting fathers: good practice manual

To gain a place in the top-rankings, organisations had to answer a series of in-depth questions on their policies, how these worked in practice, whether flexible working was part of their culture, and how the impact of family-friendly working was evidenced through data.

The list of top employers is as follows (in alphabetical order):

  • American Express
  • Barclays Bank
  • Crown Prosecution Service
  • Deloitte
  • Independent Living Fund Scotland
  • Intellectual Property Office
  • Lloyds Banking Group
  • Pinsent Masons
  • Royal Bank of Scotland
  • Southdown Housing

Seven of the 10 organisations in this year’s most family-friendly employers were also ranked in the top 10 last year, and a number have also featured in previous years.

The full list of 30 employers features a number of government departments and the National Assembly for Wales.

The employers featured have taken part in Working Families’ employer benchmark scheme, which enables organisations to compare their policies and practices with others and get feedback and support.

Jane van Zyl, the charity’s chief executive, said: “For these best practice employers, their flexible and family-friendly working policies supporting mothers, fathers and carers are well developed, and flexible working is becoming embedded.”

However, she added that flexible working alone would not deliver work-life balance for parents. “What’s key to unlocking parents’ potential is a family friendly workplace culture. Importantly, today’s winners know this – and are striving to ensure their underlying workplace culture supports the flexible and family-friendly policies they have in place,” she said.

Commenting on being listed for a second year, Dominic Houlihan, director of people, places and services at the Intellectual Property Office, said: “The IPO is a great place to work. We are committed to the physical and mental wellbeing of our people. This includes policies that support our people to balance work and family life.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“An environment where people can meet their full potential is also one which delivers for customers. We retain valuable skills and are better able to respond to changes in the business environment.”

The IPO offers home working, flexible hours and shared parental leave, as well as support networks and counsellors.

Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Labour pledges to give gig workers the same rights as employees
next post
Only half feel confident enough to offer first aid if needed

You may also like

Number of police working second jobs doubles

15 Jul 2025

Mansion House speech: will employers’ pension contributions rise?

15 Jul 2025

University staff to strike over hybrid working curbs

15 Jul 2025

Employees voting with feet as return-to-office pressure increases...

15 Jul 2025

Businesses warned against reducing recruitment in favour of...

15 Jul 2025

Postmasters could take ownership of Post Office

14 Jul 2025

Ethnicity and disability pay gaps: Ready to report?...

14 Jul 2025

Manager dismissed after covert recording with HR wins...

14 Jul 2025

Food sector warned it is facing a workforce...

14 Jul 2025

Gregg Wallace investigation: 45 allegations upheld

14 Jul 2025

  • Empower and engage for the future: A revolution in talent development (webinar) WEBINAR | As organisations strive...Read more
  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+