Are you working for one of the UK’s best employers?

The majority of the best companies to work for are British, according to a recent survey of employees in the UK

Business market experts, Bloomberg, commissioned the survey of staff from more than 1,600 companies, both national and multi-national, across the country, to establish which of them had the most satisfied employees.

They also asked staff if they would be happy to recommend their company to new recruits.

The results from the 15,000 respondents were then compiled into a list of the top 50 best companies to work for in the UK.

According to the survey, the top three in the UK are Jaguar Land Rover, a former British owned company but now owned by Indian car manufacturer Tata Motors; pharmaceutical company AstraZenica, which is British/Swedish owned; and Harrods, which is now under Qatari ownership.

British-owned companies Dysons and Rolls Royce also feature in the top 10, along with Adidas, Microsoft, Estee Lauder, Sky and restaurant chain Frankie and Bennie’s.

And four of the countries’ universities made it into the top 50: the University of Cambridge (No. 23); the University of Oxford (No. 32); the University of Plymouth (No 42) and the University of East Anglia (No.46).

Other British owned companies featuring on the list are: Cancer Research UK; Lush; BBC; Pets at Home (which has also been placed Best Big Company to work for in a Sunday Times sponsored survey in 2013); the John Lewis Partnership; United Utilities; Nuffield Health; Sainsbury’s; Deloitte; Haymarket; Virgin Atlantic; Argos; Virgin Trains East Coast; RSA Insurance; Howden’s Joinery; Burberry; and Glaxo Smith Kline.

The remaining companies are internationally owned, with a base in the UK.

Surprisingly 42 per cent of the most satisfied staff work in the manufacturing sector, although not every sector was represented in the survey.

Employees of financial companies; larger businesses involved in weapons manufacture and supply; companies in the gambling, tobacco or pornography sectors; and Bloomberg’s competitors were excluded from taking part.

This piece of research was undertaken by Statista, which surveyed companies with more than 500 employees.

However, a Glassdoor survey of companies employing more than 1,000 staff found that Expedia topped the employees’ choice of best company to work for, knocking Google off the top slot, into eighth position. Expedia doesn’t even feature in the top 50 Bloomberg commissioned study. But Google are placed in both, reaching No 16 in the Statista research.

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