UK Power Networks (UKPN) has been named as one of the country’s best big companies to work for – the sixth time it has featured in the Sunday Times’ rankings.
UKPN was featured tenth in the Top 25 Best Big Companies to Work For list at a ceremony last night (20 February) and also received a Discovering Potential award, reflecting its ongoing commitment to apprenticeships and its school engagement programme.
The company, which powers 8.3 million homes and businesses across London, the south east and east of England, was ninth in the list last year. It featured 11th in 2018, 29th in 2017 (when the rankings were out of 30), 25th in 2016 and 24th in 2015.
It was the only utilities firm featured, although Octopus Energy’s parent company, Octopus Group, was named 79th in the mid-sized company rankings. Energy consultancy Utilities Alliance was at number 40 on the same list.
Staff surveys carried out as part of the judging process, found that 66 per cent of UKPN employees felt happy with their work/home life balance. The judges also highlighted an integrated wellbeing campaign, WorkingWell, which launched last year.
The survey found 90 per cent of staff agreed they could make a valuable contribution to the success of the organisation. Chief executive Basil Scarsella was praised for his multi-platform approach to communicating with staff.
In total, 70 per cent of workers said they were happy with the pay and benefits they received.
Andrew Pace, HR director at UKPN, said: “We are delighted to be recognised among Britain’s ‘best big companies’ for the sixth year running.
“We are extremely proud of our employees and listening to their feedback has led to many improvements over the years. For example, last year their ideas on welfare in the workplace resulted in us training over 200 mental health first aiders.
“People reach their potential and provide the best service to our customers when they can make a difference and stay engaged. This year we will keep working closely with our employees to continue making UK Power Networks a great place to work.”
Jonathan Austin, founder and chief executive of Best Companies, said: “I would like to congratulate UK Power Networks on achieving a Two Star Accreditation and being named as one of the UK’s Best Companies to Work for. Best Companies has been acknowledging excellence in the workplace since 2006 when we launched our Michelin style accreditation standard. We are proud to work with organisations like UK Power Networks who focus on their people and as such have been rewarded with an engaged workforce who tell us that they’re a best company to work for.”