Is work-life balance good for business?

A debate on the question "Is work-life balance good for business?" will take place at the Institute of Directors (IoD) on 21st September, 2006.

A debate on the question "Is work-life balance good for business?" will take place at the Institute of Directors (IoD) on 21st September, 2006.

Chaired by Joanna Higgins, Group Editor, Director Publications, a panel of business-focused experts will give their perspective on this question and then open to the floor for questions and debate.

The panel will include: Sarah Jackson, Chief Executive of Working Families; Kate Patton, Human Resources Director for HP, sponsors of the Working Families Employer Awards 2006; Vivienne Duke, Director of Equals One and Encore and winner of the 2006 Innovation Employer of the Year Award; Charlie Monkcom, Business Adviser, NSPCC, partners in the Family Friendly Award; and Karen Sadler, Business Development Manager, UKRC, partners in the Women in SET Award.

The debate will officially launch the Working Families Employer Awards 2006, sponsored by Hewlett-Packard.

The awards have a fresh look this year and will have an overall winner, in addition to each of the individual categories.

New sponsors HP are being joined by media partners The Times Public Agenda and Career and the Institute of Directors' Director magazine.

The NSPCC and Norman Broadbent continue to support the Family Friendly Award, and this year they are joined by Jaguar and Land Rover who are sponsoring the UKRC Women in SET Award.

In addition, the awards as a whole are supported by the Department for Trade and Industry.

There are also four new award categories: Older Workers, Public Sector, SME and Wellbeing at Work.

The Working Families Employer Awards are designed to reward innovation and creative thinking in work-life balance, spread the word on best practice and encourage pioneering approaches to improving working lives and building business success.

Organisations of all sises and in all sectors can apply for one or more awards, and the overall winner will be chosen from the winners of each category.

The Women in SET Award looks specifically at science, engineering and technology employers' practices on gender equality, in particular the actions they take to ensure their employees have a good work-life balance and the measures they have in place to encourage flexible working - issues which are crucial to addressing the barriers faced by women in the SET sector.

The Working Families Employer Awards 2006 are: the Working Families Employer of the Year, sponsored by HP; the Working Families Innovation Award for leading edge work-life balance policy and practice; the Working Families and NSPCC Family Friendly Award, sponsored by Norman Broadbent, for initiatives to benefit working parents of children and young people; the Working Families Public Sector Award, supported by The Times Public Agenda and Career, for good practice in the public sector; the Working Families Silver Service Award for initiatives aimed at older employees; the Working Families and Institute of Directors Small Business Award, for good practice in the SME sector; the Working Families Wellbeing Award for employers committed to improving the health and wellbeing of their workforce; and the Working Families and UKRC Women in SET Award, sponsored by Jaguar and Land Rover, for employers in science, engineering technology and the built environment.

The closing date for registration is 31st October, 2006.

The awards will be presented by the Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, at a gala luncheon and awards ceremony at the Cafe Royal in London on 15th February 2007.

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