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We want to see the West of England as a place where people are offered secure, fulfilling and well-paid work and be able to reach their true potential.

This not only boosts workforce morale, retention rates and health. It also leads to business growth and success, benefitting society and the wider economy. That's why we have launched the West of England Good Employment Charter. It will support organisations of any size or sector to improve investment in their staff and set the standard for working practices in the region.

What is the Good Employment Charter?

The Good Employment Charter is a FREE tool designed to support organisations boost productivity and achieve higher growth. It is a voluntary membership and accreditation scheme aimed to create an active network of employers within the West of England that are committed to supporting the basis of 'good work'.

The Charter promotes seven key benefits of good employment including security, flexibility, wellbeing and development. By making a pledge to meet these standards, participating organisations can become an ‘employer of choice’.

Benefits of secure work
Benefits of flexible work
Benefits of the Real Living Wage
Benefits of better recruitment
Benefits of employee engagement
Benefits of developing people
Benefits of employee health

Why join the Good Employment Charter?

The Charter sets out to establish a benchmark for working practices, helping employers to develop diverse and truly inclusive employment procedures. By signing up to the Charter you will get access to a number of resources, support and events to help you on your journey to success. These are just some of the ways joining the Charter could benefit you:

Make the pledge
  • Higher staff retention rates
  • Better productivity
  • Healthier workplace culture
  • Top talent chooses you

Join as a Supporter

Supporters of the Charter are employers who have committed to improving their practices by working towards the seven Charter benefits.

Find out more

Good Employment Charter animation transcript

Looking after your team isn’t just the right thing to do…
It makes business sense.
The Good Employment Charter is here…
To improve and set the employment standards in the West of England, to gain better productivity, increase retention and attract top talent…
You can become a supporter by pledging to make improvements against our 7 characteristics of good employment…or a member by committing to meet all of them.

  1. Secure Work
  2. Flexible Work
  3. Real Living Wage
  4. Engagement & Voice
  5. Recruitment
  6. Developing People
  7. Health & Wellbeing

To find out more about the Charter and the support available, visit goodemploymentcharter.co.uk.

A good employer gets a committed workforce
A good employer gets top talent
A good employer gets increased profitability
A good employer gets a health workforce
A good employer gets better productivity
A good employer gets it.

The Good Employment Charter is a West of England Combined Authority initiative.

A good employer gets it...

How will it benefit your organisation?

By joining the Good Employment Charter you will striving to be an ‘employer of choice’. This will enable your organisation to achieve better productivity and growth, increase staff retention and recruit top talent.

Good employment isn’t just the ‘right’ thing to do, it also helps employers achieve more and contributes to a thriving economy.

Join the Charter

The West of England Good Employment Charter aims to raise employment standards across our region.
I'm proud that the Charter has been developed with the trade unions and other partners.
It supports employers in the West of England who create better experiences for their workers.
We know that employers and properly supported by their employees are usually the most successful.
That's a win win for the West of England.
My Good Employment Charter will help our amazing West of England region to not only survive but to go on and thrive as we successfully overcome the challenges ahead.
Nigel Costley: We spend a lot of our time at work, so we want to do a good job for a real purpose. We want to feel that our contribution is recognised and valued. That's not just about pay and conditions. It's also about the way you're treated, the way you're listened to. It's also about the way you're treated, the way you're listened to, and you want to work for an ethical company, and ethical business, particularly here in the West of England that wants to champion these values.
Paul Castle: We started with thirty staff, we've now got just under sixty. We recruited from the local population. They understood right from the beginning that we paid better rates of pay, staff benefits. We put them before our profits. It's down to businesses to act responsibly. People want to be part of that. We give back to our staff again and again. This, in the long run, will pay dividends for us because we're not having to recruit and retrain time after time after time. The charter offers something for every employer, every workplace, in every sector. It's not good enough just to talk about creating quality jobs unless you actually know what that means. What does a good job look like? This charter does set out some really good benchmarks about what should be the minimum standards of a good employer. If you want to set out to be a good employer, you mean well, you want to operate using good values and standards then this charter is for you.

The Mayor of the West of England

Why has the Charter been introduced?

The Mayor of the West of England is prioritising the creation of good quality jobs which are fair and accessible to all. A key element of this is the Good Employment Charter, which will help ensure good accessible jobs in the West of England paying the Real Living Wage, and promote more sustainable business practices.

Getting involved

Discover our latest events

We’ve created a list of upcoming peer-to-peer events that could make a difference to you and to your organisation fulfil the Charter pledges.

View all events