City dominates family-friendly top 10

The annual list of the UK’s most flexible and family-friendly employers from charity Working Families has a high concentration of firms from the financial sector in its top 10.

American Express, Barclays Bank, Citi, Deloitte and Lloyds Banking all made the top 10; the only public sector organisation was the Ministry of Justice.

To enter, organisations must complete a benchmark survey which examines in detail their flexible and family-friendly working policies and practices.

As flexible working becomes embedded in more organisations, Working Families is calling on employers to adopt a “flexible by default” approach, to continue the rise in flexible working and help everyone to achieve a work-life balance that works for them.

Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families, said: “In a working environment where the right to request flexible working and Shared Parental Leave are now a reality, these employers have shown leadership and innovation in their policies and practices, and will reap the rewards of attracting the best talent and having a loyal and engaged workforce.”

The 2015 benchmark survey was the first in the series to take a look at the way organisations are setting up their Shared Parental Leave (SPL) schemes.

The report found that almost three in five (58%) of those analysed are matching SPL to existing enhanced maternity provisions, while almost three in 10 (29%) are providing the statutory minimum. The remaining 13% have yet to formalise policy and are taking a “wait and see” approach.

www.topemployersforworkingfamilies.org.uk/index.php/news/entry/top-employers-for-working-families-the-annual-list-is-out