Finding that elusive balance between work and play can be tricky but bosses at Cobalt Recruitment seem to have found the magic formula.

If a member of staff is planning to visit a friend at the other end of the country for the weekend, the company is happy for them to relocate to an office more convenient to their travels for a few days. Staff appreciate this, and say they aren’t spending too much time working, giving a 78% positive score, which ranks the company fourth on this point. They are happy with the balance between their work and home life, giving a top three score of 85%.

Cobalt’s staff are also the happiest in the country when it comes to a fair deal and their wellbeing, giving 87% and 85% positive scores respectively.

Cobalt was founded in 2001 by Timothy Rowe and Adam Walker, who are joint managing directors. They lead by example by leaving the office on time and not working weekends. Long hours are generally banned and time off work for doctor’s appointments, moving house and the like doesn’t come out of annual leave. Staff say work doesn’t interfere with responsibilities at home (a top score of 90%).

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Performance-related pay rewards hard work without being a burden — staff do not feel they are under too much pressure to perform well, giving a score of 86%.

Another top score of 88% shows that staff feel they are paid fairly compared to people in similar positions in other recruitment firms. Thirty of the 68 employees take home more than £45,000 a year. They are happy with the pay and benefits they receive, giving an 89% score that ranks the company second.

Rowe and Walker sit with staff and are also fully involved in “hot desking” — swapping desks regularly to work with different staff. They are always on hand to offer advice or help with problems. Employees have a great deal of faith in them (94%) and also feel inspired by them (92%). They feel the organisation is run on strong values (86%).

Cobalt makes it easy for its staff to be a healthy bunch. There are thriving golf, netball, football and running teams and on-site showers and bike racks make it feasible for people to walk, run or cycle to work.

Employees say they aren’t under too much pressure to concentrate (87%) and do not suffer from work-related stress (89%). A second ranked score of 94% shows that staff don’t think their health is suffering because of work.

They would strongly recommend working at Cobalt (93%), earning the business another top 10 finish.

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