The benchmarks help organisations to understand and measure the progress and success of their flexible, high performance working initiatives. The Awards celebrate the policies and practices of employers that are offering exceptional flexible and family-friendly workplaces.
Companies can enter by completing a benchmark survey and can also enter up to 11 Special Awards.
The awards categories this year are:
- Best for all stages of motherhood
- Best for all stages of fatherhood
- Best for flexible working
- Best for older workers
- Best for carers and eldercare
- Best new flexible working initiative
- Best for supporting line managers
- Best for embedded flexibility
- Best for engagement
- Best for innovation
- Best for childcare
To enter the benchmark, organisations complete a survey that examines in detail their current work-life and flexible working policies and practices. There is also a separate benchmark for SMEs.
Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families said: “This is an exciting, landmark year for Top Employers for Working Families. The work-life and flexible working landscape is changing.”
The Special Awards are open until 3 April and the benchmarks are open until 15 May. The winners of the Top Employers for Working Families Special Awards will be announced at an awards ceremony on 16 June at Vintners’ Hall, London. The judging panel includes Jackson, Mary Mercer, principal consultant at the Institute for Employment Studies and HR magazine editor Katie Jacobs.
The A-Z lists of Top Employers for Working Families and the Top Small Employers for Working Families will be announced at a conference during National Work-Life Week (21–25 September 2015).
The results of both awards will be exclusively revealed in HR magazine.
For more information, visit www.topemployersforworkingfamilies.org.uk