Staff invited to rate their employer

A new website has been launched which invites staff to rate their employers on issues such as training, salary, management and quality of workplace.

The site is intended to help jobseekers make more informed choices about potential employers and claims to also provide employers with an opportunity to get open and honest feedback from employees, which can be used to develop and improve their business.

Employees can go to the www.employerinformation.co.uk website and anonymously rate their employer on a set of standard areas. The employer ratings appear on the website as a star rating and businesses are ranked in a league table from the highest to the lowest rated.

When an employee completes a questionnaire they are also offered the opportunity to provide additional comments. These comments will not be published on the web and will only be provided, at a charge, if requested by the employer. The names of employees who provided the feedback will not be disclosed.

A total of 22 businesses that have already been rated include McDonalds, Mta Solicitors and Luminar Leisure.

Jed Walsh, director of employerinformation.co.uk, commented: “Businesses can do 360-degree appraisals and ask for feedback, but sometimes for fear of retribution or fear of next steps, employees might not be open and transparent about what they think of the organisation.

"Our website gives employers an external vehicle to find out what employees really think about issues such as pay, terms and conditions and working environment.

Mr Walsh accepted that some businesses might not like the fact that the star ratings are public, but said: “Wise employers will view it as an opportunity to make changes and add value to their business.”