BAE Systems Maritime Naval Ships, McMillan Williams Solicitors, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Reality HR are among the employers recognised at the Workingmums.co.uk Top employer awards 2014.
The awards, which were presented on 4 November at London’s Soho Hotel, recognise employers that have embraced the business benefits of flexible working and been proactive in creating a family-friendly working environment for staff.
The keynote speaker at the ceremony was Wendy Hallett MBE, founder and managing director of Hallett Retail.
The winner of the ’Overall top employer award’ was McMillan Williams Solicitors for its comprehensive range of support for staff, breadth of case studies submitted and the inspiration it offers other organisations in the legal sector. It is the first time a small and medium sized enterprise (SME) has won this award.
BAE Systems Maritime Naval Ships was presented the award for ’Innovation in flexible working’ for the organisation’s success in introducing flexible working in a traditional, male-dominated sector.
LSE won the ’Best for dads award’ for the second consecutive year due to its commitment to innovation in this area. The judges felt that the university had really grasped the wider benefits of developing the working environment for working fathers.
LSE was also highly praised for its research leave policy, which enables academic staff to establish their research trajectory following a long period of absence.
The award winners were:
- Overall top employer award: McMillan Williams Solicitors
- Innovation in flexible working award: BAE Systems Maritime Naval Ships
- Family support award: Bank of America Merill Lynch
- Best for dads award: LSE
- Career progression award: AT Kearney
- Talent attraction award: Reality HR
- SME award (1-25 employees): Hireserve
- SME award (26 to 250 employees): McMillan Williams Solicitors
- The Working Mums champion award: Adeline Ginn of Women in Rail
The judges were: Gillian Nissim, founder of Workingmums.co.uk, Andy Lake, editor of Flexibility.co.uk, Jennifer Liston-Smith, director of coaching and consultancy at My Family Care, Dave Dunbar, head of BT flexible working services and Clare Kelliher, professor of work and organisation at Cranfield School of Management.
Gillian Nissim, founder of Workingmums.co.uk, said: “This is the fifth year for our Top employer awards and once again we have been really impressed by the kind of work being done by the shortlisted organisations and by the range of sectors they represent.
“We are delighted that this year’s top employer award winner is an SME and in a sector renowned for a traditionally male-dominated, long hours culture. This shows that all businesses can benefit from a more family-friendly approach which values the contribution of all employees.”
