Banks have the best family-friendly policies, study reveals

Firms praised by the charity offer flexible and family-friendly policies, such as allowing staff to work from home, flexible hours and time off for events or emergencies

(Getty)

Banks dominate a list of employers with the best family-friendly policies, a new study shows.

Organisations leading the way in building flexible arrangements are praised by work-life balance charity Working Families.

The top 10 were American Express, Barclays Bank, Crown Prosecution Service, Deloitte, EY, Intellectual Property Office, Lloyds Banking Group, Pinsent Masons, Royal Bank of Scotland and Southdown Housing in Sussex.

Working Families said the firms on its list offer a variety of flexible and family-friendly working policies.

These include allowing members of staff to work from home, to change their start and/or finish time or to take occasional time off for family events, emergencies and deliveries.

The policies apply to all staff, not just parents, and employers train line managers in how to manage flexible workers.

Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families, said: "All the evidence shows that organisations where flexibility is properly integrated into the culture outperform their peers.

'With 11 million working parents in the UK, flexibility has to be a mainstream way of doing business.

"Employers should be looking to find the flexibility that is inherent in every role, rather than reaching for the tired 9-5 model."

PA