American Express

Financial services organisation American Express (pictured), professional services business Deloitte, educational institution Imperial College, and law firm Pinsent Masons are among the UK organisations recognised in the Top employers for working families list, compiled by work-life balance charity Working Families.

The annual list assesses UK organisations using Working Families’ benchmarking process; this involves employers being scored across four key areas in order to build a comprehensive picture of their policies and practices that specifically support parents and carers.

The four key areas are: integration with organisational strategy and culture, which looks at culture and how family-friendly practices have been embedded; the creation, development and deployment of relevant policies; how well family-friendly working is supported; and evidence and statistics, which explores the effects of flexible and family-friendly working.

A total of 30 organisations are featured in 2019’s final list, including financial organisation Lloyds Banking Group, law firm Allen and Overy, the Food Standards Agency, investment banking business Citigroup and media organisation Dentsu Aegis Network.

The top 10 UK organisations featured in the Top employers for working families list are, in alphabetical order:

  1. American Express
  2. Crown Prosecution Service
  3. DWF
  4. Experian
  5. Highlands and Islands Enterprise
  6. Lloyds Banking Group
  7. Pinsent Masons
  8. Public Health England
  9. Royal Bank of Scotland
  10. Southdown Housing
Working Families’ also uses its benchmark metrics to track trends in flexible working and family-friendly policies. This year’s results found that 64% of participating employers believe that addressing their gender pay gap is the biggest opportunity for developing work-life balance over the coming year.

A further 64% feel that their largest barrier to flexibility is a lack of line manager skills; indeed, while 70% of employers provide training for line managers on managing flexible working, only 45% make this training compulsory. As a result, only 31% of organisations have trained more than half of their managers.

Jane van Zyl, chief executive officer at Working Families, said: “We are delighted to recognise the 30 outstanding organisations that made our Top employers for working families list this year.

“These employers excelled in our rigorous benchmarking process, proving they are leading the way in building family-friendly and flexible workplaces. Crucially, they are not just putting policies in place, they are building cultures that support their employees’ wellbeing.”

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