Press release
Grant Thornton proud to be named as a Top Ten Employer for Working Families 2024
25 Sep 2024
The UK’s national charity for working parents and carers, Working Families, has announced that Grant Thornton 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.
This year’s Top Ten Employers for Working Families – in alphabetical order – are:
- Audit Wales
- Citigroup
- Crown Prosecution Service
- DAC Beachcroft
- Grant Thornton UK LLP
- Hill Dickinson LLP
- Independent Living Fund Scotland
- Mishcon de Reya
- North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT)
- Pinsent Masons
Employers were assessed using Working Families’ Benchmark and were scored on four key areas (childcare, flexible working, parental leave and control over working patterns) to build a comprehensive picture of their flexible and family-friendly policies and practices that specifically support parents and carers.
Jenn Barnett, Head of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity at Grant Thornton UK LLP, said:
"We are honoured to be named as a leading employer for working families, recognising our commitment to creating an inclusive workplace for all our people. Our approach is driven by data, which enables a continuous approach to identifying and removing barriers. People thrive when they can balance their lives with work, so we've developed flexible policies to support this balance. Our culture, fostered by these policies, makes us immensely proud, and we'll keep enhancing support for a sustainable and balanced career.”
Recent initiatives which support working families and contribute to the firm’s continued inclusion in the top 10 list this year include:
- Continuing to drive inclusive recruitment processes, which remove barriers and open doors to all. Enhanced support for job share hiring, both to the candidates and to the hiring communities, providing education on the benefits of a job share. Promoting flexibility in job adverts and career site, tailoring job offers to meet the needs of the business and the candidate.
- Enhancing our parental leave experience by introducing a ‘New Parent Mentoring Scheme’ offering support to employees and Partners of all genders returning to work following family leave. Mentors with personal experience of family leave (maternity, paternity, adoption, surrogacy or shared parental leave) support mentees, providing guidance and instilling confidence as they navigate their return to work whilst managing family commitments.
- Enhancing carers leave to give our people up to five days paid time off, when they need to care for those who are reliant on them (such as a child, elderly parent or someone that is dependent on them in an emergency) and it’s impractical to use agile working.
- Gender Allyship sessions rolled out to all Partners to raise awareness of the workplace barriers still faced by women and minority genders and encourage male allyship from senior leaders in the business around flexible working and enhancing the culture to support control and balance.
- Continuing success of the firm’s approach flexible and hybrid working which underpinned by a range of flexible working options including reduced hours and job shares, enabling control over working patterns. Shared stories of senior role models working in a flexible way, such as Sophie Murton, a partner who joined the firm on a part-time contract.
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