To mark its 30th anniversary, Working Families has selected the employers with the best HR strategy and practice to support working parents and carers.

Sarah Jackson, chief executive at the work-life charity, said they were looking for organisations which "not just offer the family-friendly policies, but really mean it, so they put it into practice".

The shortlisted businesses have shown leadership in areas such as flexible working, childcare provision, maternity and/or paternity policy and help with eldercare responsibilities.

Included in the list is Accenture, American Express, B&Q, Britannia Building Society, BT, Centrica, Ford Motor Company, Jaguar Land Rover, KPMG, Lloyds TSB Bank, Metropolitan Police Service, Nationwide Building Society and a number of others.

Ms Jackson said the charity wished to recognise the firms that have shown innovation in recent times, those that have "helped to change what we think about work and life" and changed the way other employers think.

Working Families aims to help children, working parents and carers and their employers to strike a better balance between home and work responsibilities.