EMCOR UK named as one of the UK’s most inclusive employers

EMCOR UK has been recognised by Inclusive Companies as one of the top 50 most inclusive employers in the UK. 

The Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers (IT50) is a definitive list of UK based organisations that promote inclusion across all protected characteristics, throughout each level of employment within their organisation. This is the 8th year of the IT50 and it has quickly become one of the UK’s primary and leading D&I accreditations. 

EMCOR UK has invested heavily in ED&I, including the creation of an executive director role. This was recognised when EMCOR UK ranked 61st in the IT50 list last year, and rising to 37th this year demonstrates the impact of this continued commitment to ED&I. 

Central to EMCOR UK’s commitment is its ED&I strategy, which is aligned to its core purpose, values and selected UN Sustainable Development Goals. Its Creating Balance programme is central to this activity. Colleagues from across the business work together in seven focus groups to formulate ideas and drive activity. Each focus group has an executive sponsor to ensure commitment and contribution from the executive leadership team. 

These groups have delivered numerous benefits to the wider organisation in the last year. Examples include the Ability group which guided EMCOR UK to becoming a Disability Confident Employer, and the implementation of an industry-leading maternity policy to enhance support for women in the workforce.

ED&I goals for 2024 include increasing the number of Black and Ethnic Minority employees in operational and senior leadership roles by 14%, increasing the number of people with a disability employed by EMCOR UK by 14%, and increasing the number of women in senior leadership roles by 25%. EMCOR UK recently announced that Cheryl McCall will take over as CEO from January.

Emma Mclaughlin-Edwards, executive director of equality, diversity and inclusion at EMCOR UK, said: “We strive to be as inclusive as possible, and to receive external validation of our progress is a great result. The feedback provided by the judges will be critical in helping us to continue improving our ED&I programmes. I’m already looking forward to entering again next year as we aim to rank higher up the list.”

Paul Sesay, founder and CEO at Inclusive Companies, said: “The organisations which have chosen to participate submit a huge amount of evidence in respect of their inclusive practices, covering a wide range of areas and topics. The panel has the task of looking at all areas of diversity, including age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ+ and religion before determining which organisations make the Top 50 and where they rank on the list.”

“Our judging panel is looking for cultural change rather than the ‘peaks and troughs’ often seen by well-meaning organisations whose EDI activities are actions are in response to national or world events making the news. We work closely with organisations to create cultural transformation that ensures diversity and inclusion are embedded into everything they practice and the IT50 recognises those employers who are getting this right.”

EMCOR UK was also proud to be a sponsor of the awards and presented the Outstanding Diversity Network Award for a second consecutive year.