2025 UK & Ireland Inspiring Workplaces Winners Announced

The Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces include: The Alzheimer’s Society, Butlin’s, Furniture Village, NHS, Sony Music UK and more

LONDON, HAMPSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, May 16, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- ● The Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces include: The Alzheimer’s Society, Butlin’s, Furniture Village, NHS, Sony Music UK and more
● World’s #1 Awards Recognising PeopleFirst Organisations
● Announced at an exclusive Gala Dinner at The Troxy in London

Last night Inspiring Workplaces Group (IW), in association with Prezzee, announced the Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces winners in the UK & Ireland - recognising them as truly PeopleFirst organisations.

Unlike other awards which rely on completing a survey, entrants to the Inspiring Workplaces Awards were asked to provide proof of their investment in people by completing the entry form consisting of the six key elements IW believes are fundamental to creating a PeopleFirst culture, and by extension an Inspiring Workplace. They are:

• Culture and Purpose
• Leadership
• Wellbeing
• Inclusion
• Employee Voice
• Employee Experience.

The quality of submissions this year has truly elevated the standard, marking it as the strongest ever witnessed by the independent judging panel. This reflects a significant commitment from business leaders to prioritise their people and reap the well-deserved rewards. Furthermore, it demonstrates the tangible, positive change occurring in workplaces worldwide that we have seen in entries to the Awards in other regions.
Each of the six key elements were also judged separately for special recognition in each discipline.
Organisations of all sizes and industries entered a category defined by how many people are within the business. The Top 50 winners were decided by an independent expert judging panel.

Matt Manners, Founder, The Inspiring Workplaces Group, commented: “As Inspiring Workplaces marks its 10th anniversary, we’re proud to recognise organisations that are setting the gold standard for PeopleFirst cultures. This isn’t just a feel-good approach, it’s a fundamental business strategy. With AI reshaping the way we work, companies that continue to prioritise profit over people may find themselves facing short-term wins but long-term setbacks. PeopleFirst isn’t optional. It’s essential.”

The UK & Ireland Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces in 2025, in ranking order:
#1 Alzheimer’s Society
#2 Sony Music UK
#3 Cooper Parry
#4 Clarion Communications
#5 FIECON
#6 Concentrix
#7 memoryBlue
#8 Reward Gateway | Edenred
#9 Visiting Angels
#10 Churchill Group
#11 Speedy Hire
#12 Butlin’s
#13 PagerDuty
#14 Raven Housing Trust
#15 Connect Three
#16 Octopus Electric Vehicles
#17 Ideagen
#18 NHS Business Services Authority
#19 Elexon
#20 North - NAB-IRE Ventures Limited
#21 Sopra Steria
#22 Xalient
#23 Salutem Care & Education
#24 Vistry Group
#25 Emerald Publishing
#26 Versus Arthritis
#27 Mova
#28 OneStream Software
#29 SwimTrek Ltd
#30= Bright Horizons
#30= Product Madness
#31 Nasstar
#32 Porter Novelli
#33 Croud
#34 Pure Physiotherapy
#35 Atlas Hotels
#36 SongDivision
#37 Brightec Ltd
#38 BCD Travel
#39= Genting Casinos UK
#39= Firstsource Solutions Limited
#40 Sedulo Group
#41 Brain in Hand
#42 Little Red Rooster
#43 Lubbock Fine
#44 Nuveen
#45 eStar Truck and Van
#46 Furniture Village
#47 Pan Macmillan
#48 AX
#49= AlpineFire
#49= Lantech
#50 JYSK Ltd

Business size categories
Organisations entered based upon the size/type of organisation. The Top workplaces were announced in each category last night. They are in ranking order:

Enterprise Business (5000+ employees)
● Concentrix
● Churchill Group
● Bright Horizons
● BCD Travel

Large Business Winners (500 – 4999 employees)
● Cooper Parry
● Reward Gateway | Edenred
● Visiting Angels
● Speedy Hire
● Butlin’s

Medium Business (50 – 499 employees)
• Sony Music UK
• Clarion Communications
• FIECON
• memoryBlue
• Raven Housing Trust

Small Business (0 – 49 employees)
• Connect Three
• North - NAB-IRE Ventures Limited
• Mova
• SwimTrek Ltd
• SongDivision

Government & Non-Profit
• Alzheimer’s Society
• NHS Business Services Authority

Best-in-class special recognition
Inspiring Workplaces understands that the efforts made by organisations will naturally be stronger in some areas than others. So, organisations had the opportunity to put themselves forward for special recognition in each of the six key elements of the award entry.

Below is the list of organisations that sought special recognition that scored highly enough to be considered best-in-class in these specific areas of creating a PeopleFirst organisation.

Listed in alphabetical order:
Inspiring Culture and Purpose
• Cooper Parry
• Porter Novelli
• Reward Gateway | Edenred
• SongDivision
• VersusArthrits
• Xalient

Inspiring Leadership
• Mova
• Salutem Care & Education
• Xalient

Inspiring Wellbeing
• Cooper Parry
• Emerald Publishing
• Sony Music UK
• Sopra Steria
• Versus Arthritis
• Vistry Group

Inspiring Inclusion
• Brain in Hand
• Cooper Parry
• Concentrix
• Elexon
• Ideagen
• Nasstar
• Pan Macmillan
• Sony Music UK
• Sopra Steria
• Vistry Group

Inspiring Employee Voice
• Elexon
• Emerald Publishing
• Ideagen

Inspiring Employee Experience
• Cooper Parry
• Croud
• Elexon
• Emerald Publishing
• memoryBlue
• Sedulo
• Sopra Steria
• Vistry Group

2026 Inspiring Workplaces Awards now open for entries
If you would like your organisation to have the chance of being named an Inspiring Workplace in one or across all regions (Asia, Australia & New Zealand, Europe, Latin America Middle East & Africa, North America and The UK & Ireland), visit the 2026 Inspiring Workplaces Awards page, download the entry pack and start your entry.

The deadline is February 19, 2026.

Sponsorship
There are various opportunities for organisations to partner with Inspiring Workplaces. For more information, please contact matt@inspiring-workplaces.com

About The Inspiring Workplaces Group
Inspiring Workplaces is a global organisation on a mission to help businesses build, prove, and celebrate truly PeopleFirst cultures. Believing that the greatest force in business is people, Inspiring Workplaces champions cultures where belief, belonging and confidence in the future empower individuals to thrive.

Through its core programs: The Inspiring Workplaces Awards, Certified PeopleFirst™ and the free Inspiring Workplaces Community — the organization celebrates, certifies and connects leaders committed to creating environments where people feel seen, valued, and prepared for the future of work.

For more information on Inspiring Workplaces, contact:
Matt Manners
+44 (0) 7799876473
matt@inspiring-workplaces.com

Matt Manners
Inspiring Workplaces Group
+ +447799876473
email us here
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