Facilities management employer Mitie, The Perfume Shop, pharmaceutical firm Thornton and Ross, and insurer NFU Mutual UK have been certified as UK top employers.
Created by the Top Employers Institute, the UK top employer accreditation recognises employers’ commitment to HR initiatives and practices. They must demonstrate how they support employees across 20 areas of HR, including people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, diversity, equity and inclusion, and wellbeing.
All four employers have received certification for at least two years as a result of their HR practices. Mitie offers its employees free Mitie shares, 24/7 access to a free multi-language virtual GP service, life assurance, an employee assistance programme with mental wellbeing support, access to Salary Finance, a carer’s leave policy that gives an additional one week’s unpaid leave per year, as well as flexible working arrangements and sabbaticals.
Thornton and Ross provides 24/7 support to employees and their families through its mental health wellbeing platform, and The Perfume Shop is an accredited real living wage employer that allows its store employees to earn commission during seasonal trading periods to boost their pay.
David Plink, chief executive officer of Top Employers Institute, said: “Exceptional times bring out the best in people and organisations. We have witnessed this in our Top Employers Certification Programme this year. These employers have always shown that they care for the development and wellbeing of their people. By doing so, they collectively enrich the world of work.”
Jasmine Hudson, chief people officer at Mitie, added: “Creating a great place to work for our 65,000 colleagues is one of the most important factors in supporting them to deliver the exceptional, every day. From our benefits to progressive work policies, we continue to develop new initiatives to support our colleagues.”
Nigel Stephenson, general manager at Stada, Thornton and Ross, said: “We are really pleased to see improvements to our well-established practices with several new initiatives including the successful launch of GoFluent, an online language learning platform we have made available to all our employees, bringing us even closer as an organisation and strengthening our collaboration as OneStada.”
Michelle Fellows, people and development director at The Perfume Shop, stated: “This is a great recognition for our approach to our people and recognises our commitment to creating a great place of work. We’re confident that our culture, values, development opportunities and benefits, plus our real living wage accreditation, all add up to a really special place to work.”
Kenny Graves, HR director at NFU Mutual, said: “In line with NFU Mutual’s long-term objective to be ‘a great place to work’, we aim to provide an environment of inclusivity and diversity where our people can thrive. We will continue to work hard to create an environment where our people are attracted to join the organisation, can further develop their skills and feel fully engaged and empowered to make a difference.”