Worcester Royal Infirmary NHS Trust Date of Study: 1999 Size: large Sector: public Region: West Midlands Type of Business: local authority Summary: Staff are their most important asset in providing effective, high-quality healthcare services to the community. A range of work-life balance initiatives assist staff with family responsibilities and there has been a major investment in training for managers to encourage a more flexible approach to how jobs get done. Profile: The ...

Watford Council Date of Study: 1999 Size: large Sector: public Region: London and South East Type of Business: local authority Key Policy Area: parental support Summary: Watford’s ethos is that “you don’t have to struggle to juggle” as a working parent. It seeks to empower managers and all employees to organise work in a way which supports a better quality of life, both for employees and the local community. Profile: Watford Council (1,100 employees ...

University of Bath Computing Department Date of Study: 2000 Size: small Sector: public Region: South West Type of Business: university IT Summary: “I hope I have created a flexible working environment that is equally fair and beneficial to parents and non-parents alike,” says Sarah Spiers. Her approach of allowing maximum flexibility, even at short notice, has resulted in more productive employees and unusually low turnover for a university IT department. Profile: ...

The Department for Constitutional Affairs Carers in Employment Employer of the Year 2004 Date of Study: 2004 Size: large Sector: public Region: South East Type of Business: Government department Summary: The DCA has established its own internal network for carers. It has three dedicated co-ordinators with counselling skills, and arranges training, provides information and organises events for employees who care. Profile: A very traditional, old fashioned department ha...

The Birmingham and Solihull Job Centre Plus Employer of the Year Driving Diversity Award 2003 Date of Study: 2003 Size: large Sector: public Region: West Midlands Type of Business: employment service Summary: Jobcentre Plus has identified that its customer base has changed significantly over recent years and that new ways of working are needed to ensure it continues to provide a high level of service. Profile: The organisation is fully committed to building a workforc...

Telford and Wrekin Borough Council (family focus) Employer of the Year Family Friendly Award 2003 Date of Study: 2003 Size: large Sector: public Region: West Midlands Type of Business: borough council Summary: The Borough has only recently become one of the new unitary authorities. This provided a good opportunity to launch them as a family friendly local authority. Their particular focus has been on children and young people. This ethos permeates the way they think about ...

Telford and Wrekin Borough Council (carers focus) Employer of the Year Carers in Employment Award 2003 Date of Study: 2003 Size: large Sector: public Region: West Midlands Type of Business: borough council Summary: Telford's flexible working policies and support for carers have led to an increase in full service opening hours by three days each year. Profile: The Council is proud of its employment principles of 'Value, Fairness and Trust', many of which are specifical...

Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust North East Employer of the Year 2001 Date of Study: 2001 Size: large Sector: public Region: North East Type of Business: healthcare Summary: Recognising the biggest constraint the NHS faces is the shortage of human resources, the Trust is keen to look at new and creative ways to help its staff achieve work-life balance. Profile: As a health care provider, the Trust recognises its success is dependent upon its ability to achieve ...

Sperrin and Lakeland Health and Social Care Trust Northern Ireland Employer of the Year 2001 Date of Study: 2001 Size: large Sector: public Region: Northern Ireland Type of Business: Health Trust Summary: A comprehensive range of work-life balance options allow the Trust to be flexible and innovative in the way it delivers services to clients and patients on a 24/7 basis. Profile: "The main benefit of work-life balance policies to our workplace is that, as a prov...

South Lanarkshire Council Public Sector Employer of the Year 1999 Date of Study: 1999 Size: large Sector: public Region: Scotland Type of Business: local authority Summary: South Lanarkshire anticipates that in the future there will be an even greater demand for flexibility, both in terms of service delivery and employee need. It has created a set of clear values and principles that encourage flexibility and choice to fit with different caring needs and work-home balance. ...

Scottish Legal Aid Board Scottish Employer of the Year Award 2005 Date of Study: 2005 Size: medium Sector: public Region: Scotland Type of Business: Government department Summary: The organisation has developed a team-based approach to flexible working, involving employee consultation and measurement gathering by employees, throughout the piloting of this approach to achieve significant results. Profile: In a sector and size of organisation that cannot always compete ...

Scottish Enterprise, Forth Valley Small Employer of the Year 2000 Date of Study: 2000 Size: medium Sector: public Region: Scotland Type of Business: enterprise agency Summary: Staff are valued as people, rather than post holders, and achieving objectives is more important than which hours in the day/week, or month are worked to achieve them. “These policies help to demonstrate that this is a great place to work and to attract the talent we need in an increasingly com...

Scottish Court Service Scottish Employer of the Year 2001 Date of Study: 2001 Size: large Sector: public Region: Scotland Type of Business: Court Service Summary: The Scottish Court Service has 1000 staff spread the length and breadth of Scotland and the Islands. Its work-life balance policies help it to retain skilled staff with childcare commitments and address potential recruitment and retention difficulties. Profile: The Scottish Court Service has 1000 staff sprea...

Salisbury Health Care NHS Trust Joint South West Employer of the Year 2001 Date of Study: 2001 Size: large Sector: public Region: South West Type of Business: healthcare Summary: The Trust has used work-life balance policies to aid recruitment and retention of staff and therefore to deliver high quality care on a 24/7 basis Profile: Salisbury NHS Trust have used work-life balance policies to aid recruitment and retention of staff, to deliver high quality care on a 24/...

Royal Borough of Kingston Date of Study: 1999 Size: large Sector: public Region: London and South East Type of Business: local authority Summary: Kingston promotes work-life balance internally via its “Family Friendly Managers’ Award”, and externally through an EU-supported project for SMEs, called “Striking the Balance”. Profile: The Royal Borough of Kingston (3,639 employees in 1999) has to compete for staff alongside other major employers in ...

Oxfordshire County Council Employer of the Year 1990 Date of Study: 2000 Size: large Sector: public Region: London and South East Type of Business: local authority Summary: “We offer part-time working hours of almost every conceivable sort and combination,” says Oxfordshire CC’s Hilary Simpson. “Part-time women outnumber full-time men in our workforce by four to one and I have no problem in prioritising their needs. For us, family friendly is not an...

North Wales Police Welsh Large Employer of the Year 2001 Date of Study: 2001 Size: large Sector: public Region: Wales Type of Business: Police force Summary: Promoting work-life balance is part of a larger culture change in an organisation which has been traditionally male-dominated. It has also resulted in a more motivated workforce, who are more responsive to the needs of the public. Profile: "We see work-life balance as being essential to the recruitment, rete...

Leeds Metropolitan University Yorkshire and the Humber Employer of the Year 2001 Date of Study: 2001 Size: large Sector: public Region: Yorkshire and the Humber Type of Business: higher education Summary: A wide range of flexible working options and innovative leave provisions have been introduced to boost the proportion of women in senior positions Profile: LMU is the largest university in England and Wales to have achieved an Investor in People award. The assessment...

Leeds City Council Date of Study: 2002 Size: large Sector: public Region: North East Type of Business: city council Summary: Piloting flexible working and work-life balance policies with the aim of extending service provision and quality, increasing morale and improving recruitment and retention. Profile: Even the sceptics agreed flexible working improved efficiency Leeds City Council Finance Department received funding from the DTI Challenge Fund to undertake a major work...

Kings College Hospital NHS Trust Employer of the Year 2000 Date of Study: 2000 Size: large Sector: public Region: London and South East Type of Business: hospital trust Summary: King’s College Hospital’s “Kingsflex” scheme has proved key in reducing absenteeism and increasing recruitment. Flexible rostering, widespread part-time working, personalised annual leave and enhanced parental and carer leave are all widely promoted both in-house and in the ...

Greenwood Dale School Joint East Midlands Employer of the Year 2001 Date of Study: 2001 Size: medium Sector: public Region: East Midlands Type of Business: Education Summary: Flexible working at this highly successful technology college has been facilitated by wide usage of an intranet for all communications and planning. Profile: "Because of the huge variety of staff, and the needs of a school that is open 6.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. each day, we employ flexible wor...

Employment Service UK Large Public Sector Employer of the Year 2001 Date of Study: 2001 Size: large Sector: public Region: UK Type of Business: Government Summary: The Employment Service is committed to making the full range of its excellent work-life balance policies available to all staff. Profile: "ES is fully committed to being an employer that takes Work Life Balance issues seriously. This means we recognise that everyone has a life outside work and that, at...

Department for Work and Pensions Date of Study: 2001 Size: large Sector: public Region: UK Type of Business: Government department Summary: Flexible working patterns have helped to improve the work-life balance of many staff and also helped to meet particular business needs, such as an evening service to customers Profile: The Department for Work and Pensions (formerly the Department of Social Security and now incorporating the Employment Service) is the largest Government d...

Corbett Hospital Date of Study: 2000 Size: large Sector: public Region: West Midlands Type of Business: hospital Summary: “Quality of service is paramount here, and I would rather have a good nurse half the week, than a mediocre one full-time,” says Corbett Hospital Ward Manager Graham Russell. “There is a skills shortage in the NHS and we need to retain experienced people.” Profile: "Graham is the most understanding, flexible and helpful manager...

Contributions Agency Date of Study: 1999 Size: large Sector: public Region: North East Type of Business: government agency Summary: Home working, twilight and weekend working and Family Care Expenses initiatives have had two way benefits for both staff and the Agency, particularly in terms of improving customer service. Profile: Commitment to new ways of working is emphasised at the Contributions Agency (7,961 employees in 1999) in its Equal Opportunities Policy which states...

Cheshire Health Agency Small Employer of the Year 1999 Date of Study: 1999 Size: medium Sector: public Region: North West Type of Business: health service support Summary: Work-life balance policies are key factors in providing a consistent and cost-effective service to the Agency’s partners. Retention and continuity in staffing help keep costs down and performance levels high. Profile: The Cheshire Health Agency (128 employees in 1999) provides administrative a...

Anglia Polytechnic University Date of Study: 2002 Size: large Sector: public Region: Eastern Type of Business: higher education Summary: Flexibility brings enhanced service at university Profile: In 2002, experienced BALANCE AT WORK consultants Jo Reynolds and Michael Wilkins were asked, via the DTI’s Worklife Balance Challenge Fund, to work with Anglia Polytechnic University (APU). They looked at existing policies and procedures, how they were being applied within di...

Date of Study: 1999 Size: large Sector: public Region: Eastern Type of Business: hospital trust Summary: Extensive childcare and a range of flexible working has evolved in response to employee need and to reduce turnover. The effectiveness of these policies in terms of recruitment and retention is constantly monitored. Profile: Addenbrooke's NHS Trust (5,000 employees in 1999) was motivated both by a desire to support staff in combining family and work commitments and to ensure...

5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust Men at Work Employer of the Year 2004 Date of Study: 2004 Size: large Sector: public Region: North West Type of Business: NHS Trust Summary: The Trust is determined to make sure men's caring responsibilities are taken as seriously as women's. Profile: Five Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust is successfully raising the male agenda - looking at the interests of different groups, such as new fathers, flexible workers, non-resident dads (inc...

Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital NHS Trust Date of Study: 2003 Size: large Sector: public Region: South East Type of Business: NHS Hospital Summary: Alternative shift systems and ways of working reduces staff turnover and costs and improves patient care. Profile: An Award Winning Consultancy Project Over the last year, Balance At Work consultants Gillian Wing and Jean Jones have worked with the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Guy’s & St Thoma...

Hertfordshire County Council Carers in Employment (Joint) Employer of the Year 2005 Date of Study: 2005 Size: large Sector: public Region: East of England Type of Business: Local authority Summary: Operating in an environment of low unemployment, Hertfordshire County Council aim to be an 'employer of choice'. They particularly value the specific skills that carers can bring to the organisation. Supporting carers in the community is part of the County Council's role and the...