Are these the best places to work in the UK?

by • News

Glassdoor has announced the winners of its 12th annual Employees’ Choice Awards – its sixth in the UK – honouring the Best Places to Work in 2020 across the UK and eight other countries. Unlike other workplace awards, the Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards are based on the input of employees who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback, by completing a company review about their job, work environment and employer over the past year. Common themes among the Top 50 UK Best Places to Work in 2020 include work-life balance, a great culture, smart people and respect for and from leadership and senior management.

The Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards feature ten distinct categories, honouring the Best Places to Work across the US , Canada, UK, France, Germany — and for the first time this year — Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Singapore. In the UK, Glassdoor has revealed the 50 Best Places to Work (honouring employers with 1,000 or more employees). Winners are ranked based on their overall rating achieved during the past year. (Ratings based on a 5-point scale: 1.0=very dissatisfied, 3.0=OK, 5.0=very satisfied; Actual calculations extend beyond the thousandth decimal place).

 

The Top 10 Best Places to Work in the UK for 2020 are:

  1. Google (rating 4.5)
  2. Equal Experts (rating 4.5)
  3. Salesforce (rating 4.5)
  4. Hiscox (rating 4.4)
  5. Softcat (rating 4.4)
  6. Abcam (rating 4.4)
  7. Microsoft (rating 4.4)
  8. SAP (rating 4.4)
  9. Topps Tiles (rating 4.4)
  10. Arup (rating 4.4)

 

“This year marks the shift to a culture-first decade in the workplace. Glassdoor’s Employees’ Choice Awards winners are prioritising their culture and mission and putting employees at the heart of everything they do. In turn, their employees have recognised them as truly the Best Places to Work in 2020,”  said Christian Sutherland-Wong, Glassdoor president, chief operating officer and incoming chief executive officer. “This year’s winners stand out for providing exceptional career growth opportunities and encouraging work which is driven by impact and purpose. Congratulations go to all of the companies this year who stand out in the eyes of their employees.”

“Workers are increasingly prioritising culture over cash and research consistently shows that culture is the leading driver of long-term employee satisfaction,” said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor Chief Economist. “That said, business leaders have quantifiable proof that culture is one of the smartest investments they could make for the success and longevity of their companies. However, being a culture-first organisation isn’t about expensive perks, but about articulating a clearly-stated mission that resonates with employees’ own aspirations and fuels their best performance.”

Glassdoor’s 50 UK Best Places to Work in 2020 list features winning employers hiring across a range of industries, with technology, hospitality, finance, insurance and construction leading the way. Google claims the top spot with a 4.5 rating; this is not the first time for the technology giant, it ranked #1 in both 2015 and 2018. Nineteen companies are newcomers to the UK list in 2020, including Equal Experts (#2), Topps Tiles (#9), Mace (#12) and AstraZeneca (pictured) (#41) – none of which have ever won a Glassdoor Best Place to Work award before. Twenty-nine out of the 50 companies are headquartered in the UK, of which thirteen are based in London.