The 2026 Best Practice Awards winners have been announced!
Now in their seventeenth and final year, the Best Practice Awards celebrate employers who are leading the way in creating flexible, inclusive workplaces and going above and beyond in their support for parents and carers. This year is particularly special, marking the close of an important chapter, and we want it to be a true celebration of the incredible progress and commitment demonstrated by employers across the UK.
We would like to thank all the entrants, finalists, winners and sponsors for being part of the Best Practice Awards, and for the vital work you continue to do to support working parents and carers. The examples of best practice recognised through these awards will remain an important reminder of what can be achieved when employers put flexibility, inclusion and family support at the heart of their workplaces.
2026 Winners
Best for Mothers
Lloyds Banking Group
The judges felt that Lloyds’ commitment to making their full package of support available as a day-one right, regardless of length of service, seniority or route to parenthood, was the standout factor that set them apart in this category. Combined with a genuinely market-leading maternity offer, an equalised shared parental leave policy and retention rates of 91.4% one year after return, Lloyds is demonstrating that motherhood and career ambition can coexist.
Best for Fathers
Clyde & Co
The judges were impressed by Clyde & Co’s genuine commitment to making shared caregiving a cultural norm rather than a policy by recognising a gender-neutral offer gives fathers and partners the entitlement to take leave and the confidence and permission to use it. They felt the 35% uptake of parental leave by men was impressive and made all the more significant by the rise in average leave length from six weeks to twenty weeks in just two years, indicating a real cultural shift.
Best for Carers & Eldercare
Barratt Redrow
The fact that this was the hardest category for the judges to decide reflects how seriously organisations are now thinking about the support they offer to working carers. Barratt Redrow stood out for the strategic weight and cultural impact behind their approach, recognising in particular the network’s direct influence on policy, the board-level commitment that ensures carers’ voices reach the very top, and a remarkable 384% rise in network membership since 2023. Described by members as a lifeline, the human impact sets Barratt Redrow apart.
Best Family Network – sponsored by WorkLife Central
NSPCC
The judges were impressed by the strategic influence that sits behind their network, recognising that what the NSPCC has built goes beyond a support group to represent a force for cultural and policy change. They were particularly struck by the protected day per week given to the network chair, a tangible signal of real commitment, and the network’s remarkable track record of directly shaping policy and supporting colleagues through some of the most difficult moments of their working lives.
Best for All-Round Flexibility
Independent Living Fund Scotland
The judges praised the genuine all-round nature of their approach – recognising a culture of flexibility that permeates every level and every stage of the employee journey, built on trust and dignity, and shaped continuously by the real needs of colleagues including carers, disabled and neurodivergent staff. The judges felt ILF Scotland is a truly worthy all-rounder.
Best Small Employer – sponsored by BreatheHR
Forward Carers CIC
The judges were inspired by the bold and thoroughly evidenced Smart Working Week, delivering 100% pay for 80% hours without compromising productivity. Alongside this the judges were impressed by the enhanced parental leave offer and the remarkable achievement of extending the four-day model to frontline delivery staff, proving this is not a benefit reserved for desk-based roles alone.
Best for Supporting Wellbeing
BNP Paribas
The judges were genuinely impressed by the breadth and ambition of BNP Paribas’ approach, praising the holistic four-pillar model that supports employees’ mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing in equal measure, ensuring no aspect of health is treated as an afterthought. They were also struck by the remarkable 78% newsletter open rate – a figure that speaks volumes about the trust and engagement that has been built with their workforce, and that many organisations would aspire to.
Best for Supporting Different Pathways to Parenthood
Lloyds Banking Group
The judges were struck by the breadth of support across every route to parenthood, in particular the bold commitment to making the full package available as a day-one right for all colleagues regardless of grade or length of service, ensuring no one is left without support at the moments that matter most.
Family-Friendly Champion of the Year – sponsored by BlckBx
Natalie Quilter at the Hyde Group
Our judges were deeply moved by Natalie’s nomination and felt that her story was both powerful and coherent. What sets Natalie apart is not just what she has achieved in a remarkably short time, but the way she has translated lived experience into structured, scalable and inclusive change, reaching colleagues at all levels and building a culture where carers feel, not just supported, but visible and proud. In a year of significant personal challenge, her determination, compassion and impact have been nothing short of extraordinary.
Should you consider becoming a Working Families employer member, or taking the new Family Friendly Workplaces certification? View our step by step guide to building and maintaining a family friendly workplace.
The 2026 Best Practice Awards winners have been announced!
Best Small Employer – sponsored by BreatheHR
