>> Register Interest for the British HR Awards 2026 <<
With over 350 entries received from organisations across the UK, competition to be named a Finalist was fierce. But today, the British HR Awards Judging panel is proud to reveal its 2025 Winners!
Powered by employee insight platform, New Possible, the British HR Awards sets out to discover and celebrate the organisations that are truly passionate about delivering a world-class people experience. Organisations taking part this year range from start-up innovators to public sector heroes, tech superstars, global titans and everything in between. Irrespective of organisation size, industry or resources, all Winners and Finalists shared how their initiatives are transforming the people experience and delivering tangible value for their organisations.
A huge thanks to the British HR Awards 2025 all-star judging panel for reviewing the entries and sharing their expertise:
- Louise Benford, Chief People Officer, The AA
- Sharon Benson, HR & OD Director
- Anne Billson-Ross, Group HR Director, Taylor Wimpey
- Kath Ennis, Chief People Officer, Ansor LLP
- Mary Foulkes OBE FCIPD, Director of Equity, Inclusion and Culture, Shelter
- Leigh Gannon, Director People & Organisation, PUMA UKI
- Julie Griggs, Director of People & Partnering, The Open University
- Maria Hawley, Director of People, Fisher German
- Melanie Hetherington, Chief People Officer, NatWest Cushon
- Dr Tracey Leghorn, Chief Business Services Officer, SUEZ recycling and recovery UK
- Janet Roberts, Chief People & Culture Officer, Cycas Hospitality
- Tara Ryan, VP of People Experience, Monzo
- Perry Timms, Chief Energy Officer, People and Transformational HR
- Lucy Tobin, People Director, Frontier Economics
- Nate Harwood, Founder, New Possible
And so, without any further ado, the full list of Winners and those awarded Highly Commended are:
Overall Awards
Best Overall People Experience: Strand Palace (Highly Commended: Melton Building Society / Highly Commended: The First Mile)
Employee Wellness Initiative of the Year: Havas (Highly Commended: BrewDog / Highly Commended: Talk Works)
Diversity & Inclusion Initiative of the Year (sponsored by LevelUP Talent Solutions): Gi Group (Highly Commended: Cardiff and Vale University Health Board)
L&D Initiative of the Year: Manchester & Trafford Local Care Organisation in partnership with Delve OD
Recruitment Initiative of the Year: Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (Highly Commended: Monmouthshire Building Society)
Culture Initiative of the Year (sponsored by Huler): Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) (Highly Commended: Domestic and General)
Change Management Initiative of the Year: City of Bristol College
Innovation of the Year: Reed Screening (part of the Reed Group)
SME of the Year (sponsored by Engage Health Group): HubGem
Large Organisation of the Year (sponsored by Virgin Incentives): Reward Gateway and Edenred
People Awards
Leader of the Year: Natalie Ellis, Managing Director at Rebox HR (Highly Commended: Stephanie Kelly, Chief People Officer at IRIS Software Group)
Rising Star of the Year: Eilis Crickard, Talent Acquisition Manager at SciLeads (Highly Commended: Toby Kheng, Founder at Freeformers)
Coach of the Year: Claire Roberts, HR Coach at HR FOR HR
People Team of the Year (<500 employees): Cox Marine (Highly Commended: Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult / Highly Commended: Emovis)
People Team of the Year (500-1,000 employees): iamproperty (Highly Commended: London Luton Airport / Highly Commended: Yorkshire Garden Centres)
People Team of the Year (1,001-5,000 employees) (sponsored by The Electric Car Scheme): Away Resorts (Highly Commended: Norgine)
People Team of the Year (>5,000 employees): Mitie Group
Supplier Awards
Consultancy of the Year (<5 employees): Sonia Mooney Signature Solutions
Consultancy of the Year (5-10 employees): Realise HR (Highly Commended: HR Star)
Consultancy of the Year (>10 employees): Management Dynamics (Highly Commended: Peoplewise)
Employee Benefits Provider of the Year: Rippl
Recruitment Partner of the Year: LHH
Technology Partner of the Year: Rippl (Highly Commended: Electric Circus)
Sector Specific Awards
Professional Services Company of the Year: Forbes Solicitors LLP (Highly Commended: Stowe Family Law)
Technology Company of the Year: iamproperty
Hospitality & Leisure Company of the Year: Away Resorts (Highly Commended: Cairn Group)
Public & Not for Profit Organisation of the Year: The Land Collective (Highly Commended: Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust)
Nate Harwood, Founder of New Possible and British HR Awards judge said: "The need for an engaged and agile workforce is more urgent than ever, and it’s the outstanding skill, passion, and hard work of HR professionals who are meeting these challenges head-on. The British HR Awards are proud to celebrate these exceptional teams and individuals. Congratulations to all the Winners."
Havas was awarded 'Employee Wellness Initiative of the Year' for its 'Equalise' programme, which is built on four pillars: mental health, physical health, financial wellbeing, and social connection. It offers both proactive and reactive support through workshops, one-to-one coaching, holistic treatments, and unique initiatives such as a 'Work from Anywhere' policy, which allows four weeks of global remote work each year to help people find balance. In 2024, wellbeing became a core Havas value, spanning the entire people experience. As part of this commitment, over 200 managers received wellbeing training, jobs were redesigned for sustainable workloads, and a data-driven approach to managing wellbeing was introduced. The programme achieved an 87% reduction in voluntary turnover across participants and record-high wellbeing scores. Judges praised 'strong commercial results' and 'deep cultural integration'.
Mitie Group took home 'People Team of the Year (>5,000 employees)'. Drawing on insights from its annual 'MyVoice' survey, Mitie responded with an ambitious and wide-ranging set of initiatives. These include an Apprenticeship Strategy that has supported over 1,500 learners while achieving a 97% retention rate; a Women in Leadership Programme with Imperial College that addresses skill gaps and encourages career mobility; and the roll-out of 'Team Talk Local', a self-serve communication model that equips leaders with the skills and materials needed to deliver high-quality communications directly to their teams. Additional efforts include introducing a new reward and recognition hub, and an enhanced focus on ED&I, including Faith Communities training and increased paternity leave. Impact was far-reaching and well evidenced, with judges praising the programme as 'deep and strongly conceived, tackling multiple areas in a unified manner'.
Natalie Ellis was awarded 'Leader of the Year' for her impressive impact as Managing Director of Rebox HR. Launching the business in 2020 just weeks before lockdown, Natalie has grown Rebox HR into a successful consultancy that has delivered bespoke solutions to 172 UK clients. Recent successes include reducing a client's absence levels by 57%, implementing a workplace analysis system that identifies potential challenges before they escalate, and co-founding the 'HR Unboxed' podcast. Judges were particularly impressed by Natalie 'sharing her knowledge beyond her role/clients' and her focus on 'prevention vs. intervention'.
Over the next few months, New Possible will be profiling Winners and Highly Commended in a 'Sharing Success' series. Stay updated by registering for our newsletter.
Winners were revealed at a special celebration event held at the iconic Grand Hall of the Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden, London, hosted by comedian Fiona Allen. The event featured a keynote delivered by Emma Djemil and Toby Kheng, entitled ‘Winging It: How to Apply HR Survival Mechanisms to a Keynote’, and a panel discussion titled ‘What's Next for the Future of Work?’, moderated by Perry Timms. Panellists included Kath Ennis, Leigh Gannon, and Melanie Hetherington.
>> Keep updated by following the British HR Awards on X, LinkedIn, or by signing up for email updates. <<
LevelUP Talent Solutions: LevelUP specialise in custom recruitment and talent management solutions that cater to your precise business requirements. Whether your talent acquisition goals span local or global horizons, LevelUP offers sustainable solutions driven by skill, technology, and flexibility to ensure your objectives are achieved with utmost efficiency. LevelUP translates business goals into strategic direction, providing Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Recruitment On Demand, Contingent Workforce Management (CWM), HR Consulting & Market Intelligence, and their Total Talent Solution.
Virgin Incentives: Virgin Incentives is here to help with your employee rewards, incentives, employee engagement and corporate thank you gifts in the UK and USA.
The Electric Car Scheme: The Electric Car Scheme makes switching to electric vehicles affordable, offering 30-60% savings through salary sacrifice for employees.
Huler: Huler help organisations revolutionise the way they engage employees. Their plug-and-play platform elegantly brings together all your systems, communications, policies, and initiatives into a single, visually stunning digital hub. Tailored to each user but scalable across your entire organisation, Huler delivers a top-tier digital experience your team will actually enjoy. Their mission? To create technology that makes work awesome for everyone - regardless of when, where or how they work.
Engage Health Group: Engage Health Group is an award-winning employee benefits consultancy that supports UK businesses with their local and global benefit schemes.
Be Unstoppable: Be Unstoppable supports women in HR to get clarity, confidence and courage to have maximum impact in their careers, sustainably. Through coaching, group programmes and events, they provide the support, development and connection needed to be Humans. Resourced.
The British HR Awards is powered by New Possible, an employee insight platform that's committed to your success. New Possible helps leaders build healthier organisations by providing meaningful insight that can drive real change. Find out more about our mission or book a demo.
