Staff can count on Ernst & Young to provide them with good pay and great prospects as well as a dynamic and fun workplace.

The accountancy firm earns 82% positive scores for being good for personal growth and staff being proud to work for it.

Employees are rewarded through competitive salaries, special benefits such as one-off extra holidays, regular social and team events and also through the organisation’s recognition programme. Last year all staff were given two days’ additional holiday to say thank you for the company’s impressive growth over the previous three years.

Add to that a training programme to fulfil their potential and you can see why the near 9,500 employees, who provide a wide range of services including accounting and auditing, tax reporting, and technology and security risk services, would strongly recommend the firm as a good place to work (78%).

Related Internet Links

• Company website

• Ernst & Young's entry in 2007

• Ernst & Young's entry in 2006

Turning up the Heat pays off

Strong training and a sense that work is to be enjoyed add up to Heat powering past its rivals into top spot this year

BACKGROUND

• Hats off to great leadership

• Getting the message across loud and clear

• Fly high with the X Factor

• Why it pays to know what you’re doing

BACKGROUND

• Charity wins top small company award

• Special awards for best practice

• Rules of engagement

• 100 Best SME's to work for 2008

Multimedia

• Best Small Companies to Work For 2008

• Highlights from the awards ceremony

Leading from the front is chairman Mark Otty and his senior management team, who are ranked third in our list for leadership. The big bosses at Ernst & Young don’t have offices. They walk the floors and also regularly meet staff representatives to discuss business issues.

Workers say they are inspired by the chairman (75%, the highest score out of all 20 companies). Employees think Otty runs the business on sound moral principles (80%, a score bettered by just one other leader) and have confidence in the leadership abilities of senior management (77%, ranking Ernst & Young fifth).

All employees are encouraged to use their skills and get involved in their local community. To do so they are given two days’ paid leave for volunteering, matched funding and support for such work both inside and outside of office hours.

Employees in the firm’s 22 offices around the UK find their work fun (78%), stimulating (74%) and say the experience they gain is valuable for their future (83%).

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• Best 100 Tables