Imperial wins national award for its support of working fathers

Su Nandy and Suzanne Christopher (on left) received the award on behalf of the College

The College has won the Best for all Stages of Fatherhood Award in the annual Top Employers for Working Families Special Awards.

Run by the charity Working Families, the national awards recognise the most family friendly and flexible employers, with eleven award categories covering work-life policies and practices, including flexible working initiatives.

Imperial was shortlisted alongside Barclays for the Best for all Stages of Fatherhood Award, which recognises an institution’s support for fathers at every stage of their children’s development.

Imperial’s Provost, Professor James Stirling, said: “At Imperial we are committed to providing targeted support for staff who are parents or have other caring responsibilities, as well as promoting and supporting a healthy work-life balance for all our staff.

“I am delighted that Imperial has been recognised in the 2017 awards – it’s a chance for us to step back and recognise the hard work and achievements of colleagues from across the College, as well as look ahead to what we need to do next to improve our support even further.”

The award recognises the initiatives Imperial has in place which aim to break down traditional assumptions around parenthood and ensure fathers can take an equal role. The College has taken a number of steps to support members of its staff community who are fathers, including matching shared parental leave pay to the existing generous maternity provision. The College has seen an increase in the number of fathers extending their paternity leave using paid/unpaid leave – 52 per cent in 2016, compared to 39 per cent in 2013.

To support fathers on their return to work, the College has extended the Elsie Widdowson Fellowship to fathers so that they can take time out to concentrate on their research on their return from shared parental leave. In addition, the College offers workshops for new fathers, as well as a group for informal networking and the Parents’ Network website. A number of fathers have also trained as parent mentors to support colleagues.

See a full list of the award winners