Member News
Robson Laidler Accountants has been named as one of the Best Places to Work in the UK for the second year running by The Sunday Times, which has been published online today (23rd May 2025) in partnership with the leading employee experience platform, WorkL.
This nationwide workplace survey honours and celebrates the UK’s top employers - which number over 500 organisations across industries and scale - and highlights the best workplaces for women, the LGBTQIA+ community, disabled employees, ethnic minorities, younger and older workers, as well as those that provide the best wellbeing support.
To feature in the list businesses must have a staff engagement score of at least 70% and Robson Laidler, which has a team of 96 staff across its offices in Jesmond and Chester le Street, scored 84%, with an annual staff retention rate of 89%.
The latest best practice adopted by the 104-year-old firm as part of its people-centric culture is the introduction of a Four Day Working Week. Since its introduction, over 80% of the team have reported feeling less stressed - both at work and in their personal lives compared to previous ways of working.
Other initiatives that make Robson Laidler one of the best places to work include its own fully funded apprenticeship training academy, which sees the firm take on at least five new trainees each year, a better health at work programme, including wellbeing workshops, staff massage sessions, a walking club and free fruit. As well as an ED&I group who have introduced initiatives such as staff neurodiversity training, a dedicated multifaith room and updated policies to support specific religious practices.
The firm also allows its staff to join a quarterly Director round table to fuel creativity, generate debate, and give full transparency on the firm’s future and financial information.
Robson Laidler’s co-managing director Amy Park said: “I’m incredibly proud of the culture we’ve built at Robson Laidler – one where our people feel genuinely valued and rewarded. To be nationally recognised for the second year running as one of the UK’s Best Places to Work is a true testament to the people centric approach we take every day.
“In today’s competitive labour market, building a workplace where employees feel they belong and want to stay is no small achievement. This recognition not only highlights the strength of our culture and commitment to employee wellbeing but also enhances our reputation as an employer of choice.
“What makes this even more meaningful is that it’s based entirely on honest feedback from our team. It reflects the passion, dedication, and support our people show every day, not only in their work and relationships with clients, but with each other.
“Our purpose as a business is to make a positive difference to people’s lives. That’s embedded in everything we do – and being named one of the Best Places to Work proves we’re living that purpose every day.”
Robson Laidler became the first organisation in the North East to achieve B Corp certification in 2021. Other accolades the firm has achieved include; Gold Investors In People, Disability Confident Employer, Real Living Wage and Good Work Pledge certification. Additionally, Robson Laidler has been shortlisted for Firm of the Year at this year’s North East Accountancy Awards.
The Sunday Times partnered with employee-experience platform WorkL to deliver fresh insights into what makes a Best Place to Work. The awards uses 26 questions from WorkL’s employee engagement survey, developed by behavioural scientists, data analysts, psychologists, business leaders, academics and other independent parties to most accurately monitor employee engagement, wellbeing and discretionary effort in the workplace. To achieve a high overall engagement score, an organisation must score well across WorkL’s six-step framework:
To achieve a high overall engagement score, an organisation must score well across WorkL’s six-step framework:
1. Reward and Recognition
2. Instilling Pride
3. Information Sharing
4. Empowerment
5. Wellbeing
6. Job Satisfaction
Founder of WorkL Lord Mark Price said: “Many Congratulations to those featured in the 2025 Sunday Times Best Places to Work list, powered by WorkL. The recognised organisations lead the way in employee experience and will now benefit from improved retention and recruitment for the year ahead. WorkL are proud to power these awards and support organisations to measure employee experience and to retain and recruit the very best employees.”
Editor of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work Zoe Thomas said: "The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list is the UK’s biggest survey of employee engagement, compiled in partnership with workplace expert WorkL. Spanning a raft of sectors and located throughout the UK, the organisations in this year’s list range from innovative start-ups with a handful of employees to big multinational corporations staffed by thousands. These organisations know that happy employees are the superpower helping them thrive.”
The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025 employers have brought clever and inventive ideas to bear on their workforces: whether entrusting every employee with a company credit card, extending the dog-friendly office policy to include pet bereavement leave, or simply training employees sensibly so they feel empowered and enthused about their jobs. These are companies where staff have a spring in their step on Monday mornings and a willingness to go the extra mile. Why have a job just anywhere when you could be carving out a career at a Sunday Times Best Place to Work?
