The children's hospice Julia’s House Hospice has been named as the best place to work in the public and charity sector by The Sunday Times.

The list, compiled by Best Companies, identifies workplace performance and best practice relating to key factors, such as leadership, management, personal growth, wellbeing, teamwork and giving something back.

The personal care provider Sandwell Community Caring Trust took second place, while the educational charity Asdan was ranked third.

Employees at Julia’s House Hospice are trained in emotional intelligence that is crucial to their role of working with children with life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses.

Given the nature of their work, employees have a 24-hour counselling helpline.

Staff at Sandwell Community Caring Trust help adults with physical and learning disabilities and provide residential and day care for the elderly.

Employees at Sandwell feel they are fairly compared with people in similar jobs elsewhere in the sector.

Asdan was ranked first in the fair deal category, which identifies how happy employees are with their pay and benefits.

The charity passes down any surplus funds to staff through personal development funds, which amounted to £250 each last year.

Employees also receive public praise when a job is done well, as well as a pension scheme and one-off monetary rewards for exceptional performance.

Administrative officers at the charity are satisfied that they are paid fairly for their role, while Asdan employees are the most satisfied that their pay is fair compared with similar jobs in the sector.

Asdan is also offering employees who have been with the organisation for more than five years paid sabbaticals with the charity’s projects abroad.

St Giles Trust, Clyde Valley Housing Association and The Children’s Centre also ranked highly on the list.

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