The UK’s national charity for working parents and carers, Working Families, has announced that NELFT has earned a place on the highly regarded 2025 list of top family-friendly and flexible employers.

Along with some prestigious names spanning the public, private and third sectors, NELFT is demonstrating what it means to lead from the front in supporting parents and carers in their workforce.

Employers were assessed using Working Families’ Benchmark and were scored on four key areas to build a comprehensive picture of their flexible and family-friendly policies and practices that specifically support parents and carers. These areas include:

• Integration to organisational strategy and culture – which looks at culture, attitude and how far flexible and family-friendly working practices have become embedded.
• Policy – which looks at the creation, development and deployment of flexible and family-friendly working policies and their take-up.   
• Consistent practice – which considers how well flexible and family-friendly working is supported.
• Evidence and statistics – which looks at the effects of flexible and family-friendly working on the organisation, and their ability to understand those effects.  

Simon Hart, Executive Director of People & Culture at NELFT said:

“It is fantastic that NELFT has achieved a place on this prestigious list for the fifth consecutive year. I am proud of all the continued work we have done to help colleagues balance their work and home life. 

We know that by looking after our colleagues, they are better placed to look after our service users. Our dedicated parents and carers staff network are crucial in helping us implement supportive initiatives for colleagues with parental and caring responsibilities to thrive and balance work with care.”

A highlight of some of the initiatives the Trust has in place to support working parents and carers include:

• Parents & Carers Staff Network, providing colleagues with a safe forum to reflect, connect with others, and access support.
• Carers passport for those with unpaid caring responsibilities to outline the support and flexibility they need at work.
• Workshops for managers on how to incorporate flexibility within rosters.

Jane van Zyl, CEO of Working Families, said: 

“Our Top Employers are a powerful reminder that there are employers who are already forging a path for family-friendly and flexible working that others can follow, safe in the knowledge that not only will their business not suffer, but it will thrive. Supporting carers, finding flexibility in job roles, and encouraging change from the top, as our Benchmark employers do, all add up to create inclusive workforces where everyone is empowered to work at their best.”