Working Families Best Practice Awards 2022

Law firms, banks and recruiters among winners of the Working Families Best Practice Awards 2022

Work-life balance charity Working Families has announced the winners of the 2022 Best Practice Awards at a celebratory event held at Vintner’s Hall alongside the official event partner, Bright Horizons. The awards celebrate employers whose stand-out cultures and working practices are leading the way in flexible and employee-friendly workplaces. This year has seen an exceptional quality of entries, as organisations across sectors and sizes have risen to the challenges of the pandemic. The winners have all gone above and beyond for the parents and carers in their workforce, and demonstrate that from constructionto banking, international companies to small businesses, any organisation can build flexibility and family-friendly support into their job roles.

The winning organisations are:

Best for Mothers – sponsored by Royal Bank of Canada

 WINNER: Macfarlanes LLP

Best for Fathers

 WINNER: Wates Group

 COMMENDED: British Army

Best for Carers & Eldercare

 WINNER: Phoenix Group

 COMMENDED: North East London NHS Foundation Trust

Best Family Network

 WINNER: Bank of England

 COMMENDED: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield

Best for Mental Health & Wellbeing - sponsored by Investors in People

 WINNER: Santander

 COMMENDED: Northern Lighthouse Board

Best for Flexible Working

 WINNER: SF Recruitment

Best for Flexible Recruitment

 WINNER: Hill Dickinson LLP

 COMMENDED: Slalom

Best Small Employer

 WINNER: SF Recruitment

Best for All Families – sponsored by Fastn

 JOINT WINNERS:

 Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield

 Wates Group

Guest Award – Best for Supporting Fertility and Pathways to Parenthood – sponsored

by Fertifa

 JOINT WINNERS:

 Bank of England

 NatWest Group

Jane van Zyl, Chief Executive of Working Families said:

“Two years on from the pandemic, we are beginning to understand its potential longer-term impact on flexible working practices, and it’s been a joy to see how our award-winning organisations this year are forging innovative ways to support their workforce. Their commitment to finding flexible solutions and fostering supportive cultures illustrates not only that flexibility can work, but that it’s win-win. The Working Families Best Practice Award winners 2022 are shining examples of implementing policies and practices so that employees enjoy more autonomy whilst businesses get a boost in performance from an engaged and committed workforce.”

Denise Priest, Executive Director of Work and Family Solutions at Bright Horizons, said:

“It has been an immense honour to partner with Working Families at this wonderful event and congratulations to everyone who has been recognised today. The Best Practice Awards are a fantastic platform to celebrate UK employers whose stand-out cultures and practices demonstrate that they understand that all employees perform better if the organisation supports their work-life balance. These awards are deeply connected to what we do as for more than 30 years we have been delivering innovative work and family solutions, helping families and employers look forward to a brighter future.