Best companies: Top employers revealed

PRIVATELY-owned telecoms and IT company Chess is the highest-placed North West firm in the annual league table of the best businesses to work for.

Acquisitive Chess, owned by entrepreneur David Pollock is a new entrant at three in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work for 2015 in the 250-3,500 employee sector.

Wrexham-based Moneypenny, a family-owned business which offers small businesses a call handling service, also makes the top 10, and is ranked fourth. Last week Moneypenny revealed it is launching in the US.

Another newcomer is expanding Bolton-law firm Asons, which is ranked 15th, followed by a former number one company, jewellery retailer Beaverbrooks at 19th.

The next highest-placed are Hilti Great Britain (21st), Think Money, (27th), Peninsula Business Services (37th), its smaller rival Citation, (68th), and the New Inventive Bar Company, part of Tim Bacon’s Living Ventures stable of brands in 78th place.

More than 1,050 businesses and organisations registered to take part the newspaper’s league tables on employee engagement.

Staff in the companies taking part are surveyed on: leadership: wellbeing;  giving something back; personal growth; their manager; their company; their team and also to see whether they feel they are getting a fair deal on pay and benefits.

In the rankings for the 25 big businesses to work for, Iceland Foods, which was ranked number one overall in 2014, is placed 10th.

Several professional and financial service firms make the cut. EY is placed 14th, Deloitte 22, Santander UK 23th and scandal-hit HSBC 25th.

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