Thorngate Churcher Trust has been recognised in the prestigious Sunday Times’ Best Places to Work list for 2025, published at the weekend.

The Sunday Times Best Places to Work Awards, powered by WorkL, recognises organisations who have consistently high levels of employee experience and wellbeing in the UK.

Thorngate Churcher Trust supports older people with housing needs in the Gosport and surrounding areas, with 124 sheltered flats that have 24 hour warden access, and residential care from Russell Churcher Court care home. The charity is improving its offering to meet local need with a development of 30 new flats, due for completion later in 2025.

Through a significant investment in wellbeing for its 89 staff members, Thorngate has reduced staff leavers by more than 50% in recent years, through a programme of open communication that includes multiple staff feedback channels, reward and recognition schemes, wellbeing support and opportunities for development – all of which have been created with input and feedback from the staff themselves to ensure effectiveness and value.

Thorngate Chief Executive Officer, Anne Taylor, said, “I am immensely proud of the work we have all done to help create an organisation that is welcoming, supportive and provides a space for our staff to grow and develop over time. Coming to work should be something you look forward to and it’s been a team effort to ensure that’s what we offer at Thorngate Churcher Trust. To have our efforts recognised with this award is a fantastic achievement.”

Chairman Mark Hook said, “The improvements we’ve seen in staff retention and satisfaction demonstrate the value in investing in your staff wellbeing. We’ve always known that this was a special place to work and we are delighted to be named on such a well-respected national platform.”

Zoe Thomas, editor of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work, said: “The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list is the UK’s biggest survey of employee engagement, compiled in partnership with workplace expert WorkL. Spanning a raft of sectors and located throughout the UK, the organisations in this year’s list range from innovative start-ups with a handful of employees to big multinational corporations staffed by thousands. These organisations know that happy employees are the superpower helping them thrive.”

This nationwide workplace survey honours and celebrates the UK’s top employers – which number over 500 organisations across industries and scale – and highlights the best workplaces for women, the LGBTQIA+ community, disabled employees, ethnic minorities, younger and older workers, as well as those that provide the best wellbeing support.

The survey used to decide the award winners uses 26 questions from WorkL’s employee engagement survey, developed by behavioural scientists, data analysts, psychologists, business leaders, academics and other independent parties to most accurately monitor employee engagement, wellbeing and discretionary effort in the workplace.