People who join Ernst & Young aren’t just joining the UK staff of 9,000plus — they are part of a family the size of a small city, spread across 140 countries.

The London-based accountants offer general business, tax and transaction advisory services, and there are 22 sites in Britain alone.

With profits of £294m last year, Ernst & Young can afford a generous package of benefits for its staff. More people earn in excess of £55,000 a year than the number making less than £25,000 — although people aren’t as happy with pay and benefits as you might imagine, with a positive score of 63%, ranking 11th among the big firms.

With an impressive range of choices in a flexible benefits system, full-time staff can choose six extra days of holiday a year. Other options include adding family members to the basic benefit of private health insurance, or to the company travel insurance package.

Staff feel as positive about the company as they do about their own teams, with equal overall scores of 74%. They are excited about where it is going (73%) and feel they make a valuable contribution to success (74%) in a firm run on strong principles (79% and the third highest score for this question).

Anyone can take an unpaid sabbatical of 26 weeks and, after a year, there is the option of a career break of 104 weeks unpaid. Some staff work part-time and others have annualised hours (putting in longer weeks during busy periods and claiming the time back later), and there really isn’t too much work-related stress (69%).

Employees feel there are opportunities to learn and grow (70%) with a counselling manager to support and coach them towards career goals.

People feel their jobs are secure (76%) and that they develop personally (81%).

Staff say the firm does its bit to protect the environment (69%, and the second highest score) and supports employees in helping good causes outside work (74%). More than 12,500 hours of staff time have been given to charitable work.

Explore Best 100 Companies

• Best 100 Tables