ScottishPower has been recognised as the most family friendly Large Private Sector Employer in Scotland, at awards organised by Family Friendly Working Scotland - a partnership of Working Families, Fathers Network Scotland, Parenting Across Scotland and the Scottish Government.
The awards celebrate progressive organisations which recognise family friendly and flexible ways of working are not only good for people but good for business, bringing increased productivity and performance, improve morale and wellbeing, as well as enhancing staff retention and recruitment.
ScottishPower was recognised for offering a range of flexible working practices, designed to retain and support employees with families. The company offers shared paternal leave, enhanced leave and pay provision for new parents, and flexible holiday arrangements to coincide with school terms
Hamish Watson, UK HR Director said “I am delighted that ScottishPower has received this award in recognition of our flexible working practices. At ScottishPower one of our aim’s is to create an environment in which all people feel valued and respected and have access to the same opportunities. We will do this by making sure that diversity of individuals’ is recognised and valued and that it becomes an integral part of our decision making within our everyday working practices’’
Minister for Children and Young People, Aileen Campbell, said:
“Embracing flexible and family friendly ways of working isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do so that employers retain talented, productive staff. Balancing family life with a career can be challenging and every worker in Scotland will be juggling work with family or other commitments.
“Family Friendly Working Scotland supports employers who offer flexibility to workers and these awards celebrate the very best examples of this from across Scotland. The finalists also prove it’s not just large employers who can afford to offer family friendly working arrangements to employees.
“I’d like to congratulate all winners and I hope they’ll inspire organisations across both the public and private sector to look at how flexible, family friendly working can benefit both them and their employees.”
Sarah Jackson OBE, CEO Working Families who chaired The Scottish Top Employers for Working Families judging panel said:
“There clearly is an appetite in Scotland for organisations to create supportive and family friendly workplaces. The quality of entries to the 2016 Scottish Top Employers for Working Families Awards was excellent, with organisations of all sizes and sectors demonstrating that family friendly working policies and practices are good for business performance and good for people.
“We still have a long way to go to ensure that every employee in Scotland is afforded a positive integration between home and work life – too many working families currently find themselves time poor, cash poor and often both. However I am delighted to see so many of Scotland’s workplaces leading the way in creating new ways of working that are good for business, people, family life, society and the economy.”