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The Office for National Statistics is among the UK's best employers, according to a ranking compiled by Glassdoor.

The ONS is the only public sector organisation to appear on the employer-review company's annual rundown of the country’s leading workplaces.

Appearing in 21st position on the newly published UK’s Top 50 Best Places to Work in 2023, this is the first time the ONS – or any civil service employer – has made the yearly ranking since it was first published in 2015. It is also the only organisation in this year’s list to have its headquarters in Wales. 

The results are based on anonymous reviews submitted to the website by people who claim to be current and former employees. A good work-life balance and flexible working options were among the pros of working at the ONS most commonly cited in the reviews – but lower pay than other government organisations and civil service bureaucracy were some of the downsides mentioned.

Of the 577 reviews of the company on Glassdoor, 87% said they would recommend the ONS to a friend as an employer, while 97% said they approved of permanent secretary Sir Ian Diamond.

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As a result, the national statistician is also ranked as one of the UK’s top CEOs, at 18 out of 50. A recruitment process is currently underway to fill the national statistician role when Diamond's contract ends in March.

Management consultancies and tech companies dominate the Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards, with Bain & Company – which government agencies have tapped for management consultancy over the last few years – topping the list.

US-based company ServiceNow, whose software is used by several departments, came in second; followed by Boston Consulting Group and datacentre specialist Equinix, which both hold a number of government contracts.

Ocado Technology, Mastercard, Google, Arup, Salesforce and Version 1 completed the top 10 ranked employers on the list.

ONS second permanent secretary Sam Beckett said the award is a “fantastic achievement for us as an organisation, and a real testament to the loyalty and commitment of all our staff, whose contributions, skills and knowledge are truly valued here at the ONS”.

“It reflects the work that we’ve done over the past few years to make the organisation fully inclusive, and we will continue to build on this amazing foundation to ensure that the ONS remains a brilliant place to deliver work that really matters to the UK,” she added.