The UK’s national charity for working parents and carers, Working Families,  has announced that North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) has been awarded a place on its prestigious and competitive list of the top family-friendly and flexible employers. Now in its fifteenth year, employers large and small from across the public, private, and third sectors compete annually to gain a coveted place on the charity’s list of Top Employers for Working Families. 

Employers were assessed using Working Families’ Benchmark and were scored on four key areas to build a comprehensive picture of their flexible and family-friendly policies and practices that specifically support parents and carers.

Simon Hart, Executive Director of People & Culture at NELFT, said:

“I am delighted that NELFT has received this accolade for the fourth year running and proud of all the continued work we have done to ensure that we are a flexible and family friendly employer. At NELFT we are very aware that there is a direct correlation between how well we look after our colleagues and how well they are able to look after our patients and their families.

We continue to work closely with our dedicated Parents & Carers Staff Network to ensure the voice of colleagues with parental or caring responsibilities are heard, and that we are able to provide a supportive environment where they can combine work with care.''

Some of the supportive initiatives the Trust has in place include:

• Supporting parents of neurodiverse children through a self-support group.
• Carers passport for staff members to outline the flexibility they need to balance work with their unpaid caring responsibilities.
• Parents & Carers Staff Network, providing staff members with a safe forum to reflect and share challenges.
• Workshops for managers to help with managing their roster in a flexible way.

The Benchmark—which captured the experience of over 402,000UK employees across the organisations that took part— highlights trends in flexible and family-friendly policies and practices. This year the key findings include:

• 85% of Benchmark employers carry out a job analysis on some or all roles to determine the options for flexible working prior to advertising
• 90% of Benchmark entrants provide training for managers to develop and lead flexible teams, up from 84% in 2023.
• Nearly all Benchmark employers (96%) actively encourage their managers to work in a flexible and family-friendly way.
• 96% of Benchmark employers have strategic plans to support family-friendly working.
• 62% of Benchmark entrants offer paid carer’s leave, with 45% of participants offering five days of paid leave. 
  

Jane van Zyl, CEO of Working Families, said:

"It's inspiring to see our Benchmark employers leading the way in flexible, family-friendly workplaces. With 85% starting with job design for flexible roles and 96% having strategic plans for family-friendly support, they're making flexible work a reality. Nearly all provide line manager training and encourage managers to work flexibly , showing a strong commitment to inclusive work environments."