The Carer Positive 10th Anniversary Employer Awards

We were thrilled to mark our 10th year and to recognise the best of the best workplace support from our Carer Positive employers at tour 10th Anniversary Awards on Wednesday night. This sparkling celebration was held at Edinburgh City Chambers, and we were delighted to be joined by employers from across the country for the event. 

Renfrewshire Council were the first winning organisation in the best employer for Carer Identification category, highlighting their efforts to raise awareness about caring within their organisation and encourage members of staff to identify themselves as a carer, so they can access the workplace support available to them. 

Phoenix Group collected awards for both Best Employer for Carer Support in the Workplace and Best Employer for Practical Support categories, as well as receiving a commendation for Best Employer for Carer Communications and Awareness.  

Registers of Scotland were recognised for their inspiring peer support network, which provides an invaluable source of support to carers, by winning in the Best Employer for Carer Peer Support category.

NatWest were the winners in the Best Employer for Carer Communications and Awareness category and Peter Lawson from their Home Life Network also received a Carer Champion award, alongside Marie McCann and Tricia O’Neill from Centrica.

Best Overall Large Employer was a hotly contested category, but TSB stood out as winners due to the sheer range of support they offer members of staff, and how it is holistically aligned with awareness activities to ensure that there is a consistent and message of support throughout the organisation.

Lanarkshire Carers and North Lanarkshire Carers Together, the carers centres in South Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire respectively, were joint winners of the Best Small/ Medium Employer for Carers award, which recognised their dedication in supporting members of staff who are carers in their home lives. The carers centres are already highly regarded for the support and services that they offer within their local communities, so it is really valuable to see this also reflected within the staff culture of the organisations themselves. 

Finally, Peter Lawson was the recipient of an additional special Judges Award, in recognition of his dedication to carer support at NatWest, as well as his support for the Carer Positive initiative. 

Sue McLintock, Manager of the Carer Positive awards said about the event:   

“We were so delighted to host these awards to recognise the dedication and hard work our Carer Positive employers have shown over the last 10 years. This was our chance to say thank you, and to shine a light on some of the wonderful examples of support provided for colleagues who are juggling work with caring – many would not be able to manage to continue this without the support we heard about last night.  Congratulations to all our winners!”  

The full list of the awards winners are as follows: 

Best Employer for Carer Identification: Renfrewshire Council 
Commended Employer in this category: Milan Senior Welfare Organisation 

Best Employer for Carer Support in Workplace Policies: Phoenix Group 
Commended Employer in this category: Edrington 

Best Employer for Carer Practical Support: Phoenix Group 
Commended Employer in this category: NatWest 

Best Employer for Carer Communications & Awareness: NatWest 
Commended Employer in this category: Phoenix Group 

Best Employer for Carer Peer Support: Registers of Scotland 
Commended Employer in this category: Highlands and Islands Enterprise 

Best Overall Large Employer for Carers: TSB 
Commended Employer in this category: Strathclyde University 

Best Overall Small/Medium Employer for Carers: North Lanarkshire Carers Together and Lanarkshire Carers (joint winners) 

Carer Champion Awards: Marie McCann (Centrica), Tricia O’Neill (Centrica) and Peter Lawson (NatWest) 

Judges’ Special Award: Peter Lawson (NatWest) 

We would like to thank all the organisations who submitted applications for the Carer Positive 10th Anniversary Awards. They were of an extremely high standard, which made judging and narrowing down the winners a very difficult task. It was particularly valuable to see the quotes from carers on how workplace support had impacted them, and we would like to share these below. 

Finally, a huge thanks to everyone who was able to make it along on the night. Your attendance made the event feel special and it was a wonderful way for us to mark Carer Positive’s 10th Anniversary.