The National Assembly for Wales’s commitment to providing a family-friendly working environment has been recognised with a prestigious award.
Wales’s law-making body is the only Welsh organisation that has been named in the top 10 UK employers by the Top Employers for Working Families organisation (TEWF).
The TEWF is an industry-recognised bench marker for good practice when it comes to providing a working environment that allows for a positive work/life balance.
It means the Assembly joins FTSE 100 companies as one of Britain’s elite in this particular field.
“All the research demonstrates that a workforce with a good work life balance is an effective and creative workforce,” said the National Assembly for Wales’s Llywydd, Elin Jones AM.
“The National Assembly for Wales understands that flexibility enables employees to deliver high performance at work as well as balancing their changing family commitments.
“It is important to help working people in Wales achieve an appropriate balance between work and the other areas of their lives.
“That’s why I am delighted to congratulate everyone involved on the recognition they have received for their excellent work and for developing policies in line with best practice.”
Chief Executive and Clerk of the Assembly, Claire Clancy, said:
“We’re all aware that we need to achieve a good work-life balance because we know that it makes us happier, and more effective, in our professional and personal lives.
“We expect a great deal of the people who work for the Assembly but in return we support them through our enhanced family-friendly and work-life balance policies. I see the positive impact every day in our amazing team and high quality services.”
The family-friendly programmes and policies that the Assembly has for its staff include:
- Flexible working patterns – term-time, part-time, compressed hours etc
- Flexi-time
- Enhanced Maternity/Paternity/Adoption leave/Shared Parental Leave/pay arrangements
- Salary Sacrifice for Childcare Vouchers
- Carer’s Policy
- Special Leave arrangements
- A parents and carers workplace network
This award comes during national Work Life Balance week, organised by TEWF, in which the Assembly has put on a host of internal events for staff to promote the options available to them.