The UK’s 50 best workplaces have been revealed… and most are in tech, finance or consultancy: Check if your company made the list
- There are some surprising names on the list of top 50 employers
- Staff ranked their employers against five targets for the Glassdoor list
- Technology companies and consultancies dominated the rankings
The best places to work have been revealed – and there are some surprising names on a list dominated by tech firms and consultancies.
The overall top workplace in the UK is consultants Bain & Company, according to the latest Best Places to Work survey from workplace ranking firm Glassdoor.
Bain & Company won after employees praised the company’s culture, work-life balance and learning opportunities.
A good working culture and a great team are two key components to a top workplace, according to Glassdoor findings
Workers said the firm had ‘genuinely some of the finest people to work with, smart and empathetic in spades’ and an ‘amazing culture’.
In second place is software provider ServiceNow, which was the 2021 winner, then another consultancy – Boston Consulting Group.
But move further down the list and there are some household names, such as Google, Microsoft, Apple – and even Heathrow airport.
Overall 21 technology companies made the list of best workplaces, as well as nine finance firms, seven consultancies and four manufacturing employers.
The top 50 places to work in 2023
- Bain & Company
- ServiceNow
- Boston Consulting Group
- Equinix
- Ocado Technology
- Mastercard
- Arup
- Salesforce
- Version 1
- Softcat
- BlackRock
- Microsoft
- Adobe
- Novuna
- Imagination Technologies
- Johnson & Johnson
- SAP
- Wise
- Capgemini Invent
- Office for National Statistics
- Cromwell Tools
- Mott MacDonald
- SUSE
- Cisco Systems
- Dell Technologies
- Baringa Partners
- Schroders
- Bloomberg L.P.
- S&P Global
- Syngenta
- Deloitte
- VMware
- Awin
- Diageo
- Apple
- RBC
- Fidelity International
- Kainos
- Dishoom
- Goldman Sachs
- Siemens
- NFU Mutual
- Avanade
- McKinsey & Company
- Heathrow Airport
- Expedia Group
- Computacenter
- Accenture
- Procter & Gamble
Glassdoor chief executive Christian Sutherland-Wong said: ‘The past year brought extreme highs and lows for job seekers and employees, but despite an increasingly uncertain job market, Glassdoor data shows there are still companies hyper-focused on creating outstanding employee experiences.’
According to separate research by recruiter Hays, electrical engineers, sustainability managers and cyber security experts could pocket some of the biggest pay packages if they decide to move jobs this year.
Over half of workers intend to look for a new job in 2023, it said, and with more than 1.1million unfilled jobs in the UK those who are looking for a new challenge are likely to see plenty of opportunities.
Skills-short areas such as engineering, construction and technology are set to continue to be in high demand in the coming months, along with energy and sustainability managers as the drive for green jobs continues.
The top salary increases went to salesforce solutions architects, who have seen their average annual pay jump by nearly 19 per cent to £107,000, along with systems design engineers and product managers, which saw their average pay rise 18 per cent.
>> These are the jobs that saw the biggest pay rises in 2022
| Job | Industry | Salary (average 2022) | % Salary increase since 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salesforce solutions architect | Technology | £107,000 | 18.50% |
| 2 | Systems design engineer | Engineering & manufacturing | £65,000 | 18.20% |
| 3 | Product manager | Technology | £71,091 | 16.50% |
| 4 | SAP basis consultant | Technology | £61,800 | 16.20% |
| 5 | Head of talent/resourcing | HR | £79,000 | 14.90% |
| 6 | Newly qualified solicitor | Legal (private practice) | £67,577 | 14.60% |
| 7 | Aerodynamics engineer | Engineering | £65,000 | 14.50% |
| 8 | Cyber security analyst | Technology | £56,136 | 14.10% |
| 9 | Cyber security engineer | Technology | £73,125 | 13.90% |
| 10 | Fabricator/welder | Engineering and manufacturing | £32,250 | 13.70% |
| 11 | Clinical research associate (senior level) | Life sciences | £54,000 | 13.70% |
| 12 | Data scientist | Life sciences | £58,750 | 11.90% |
| 13 | Platform engineer | Technology | £60,455 | 11.80% |
| 14 | Marketing analyst / CRM analyst | Marketing | £38,909 | 11.50% |
| 15 | Diversity, equality, and inclusion manager | HR | £55,833 | 11.30% |
| 16 | Machine learning manager | Life sciences | £81,000 | 11% |
| 17 | Data engineer | Technology | £57,364 | 11% |
| 18 | Engineering operative | Engineering & manufacturing | £26,000 | 10.60% |
| 19 | Financial director | Accountancy & finance | £126,042 | 10.60% |
| 20 | Automation engineer | Engineering & manufacturing | £49,500 | 10.30% |
| Source: Hays, based on the analysis of over 10,000 salaries, alongside survey data of over 13,500 employers and professionals. | ||||
How the rankings work
Glassdoor looks at anonymous feedback from workers reviewing companies on its website, then works out the most popular firms among staff.
The workplace rating firm asks workers for some of the best reasons to work for their employer, any downsides, how satisfied they are with their job and for details on working culture, among others.
Firms must have at least 1,000 staff to be part of the Glassdoor rankings, and must have at least 30 reviews from staff.