Top Companies 2019: Where the UK wants to work now　

The 2019 LinkedIn Top Companies list reveals the 25 companies where UK professionals want to work – and stick around once they’re in – now.

Every year, our editors and data scientists parse billions of actions taken by LinkedIn members around the world to uncover the companies that are attracting the most attention from jobseekers and then hanging on to that talent. The data-driven approach looks at what members are doing – not just saying – in their search for fulfilling careers. The result of that data is Top Companies, our 4th annual ranking of the most sought-after companies today.

As always, we analyse UK members’ anonymised actions across four main pillars: interest in the company, engagement with the company’s employees, job demand and employee retention. (We exclude LinkedIn and LinkedIn’s parent company, Microsoft, from all LinkedIn Lists. You can dig into the details of our methodology at the bottom of the article.)

You can also check out the Top Companies in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico and the United States. See who made the cut and join the conversation using #LinkedInTopCompanies.

Here are this year’s 25 Top Companies in the UK.

Company insights, such as skills and top locations, are sourced from LinkedIn Talent Insights and reflect only employees on LinkedIn. We use headcounts provided by the company whenever possible. More details below.

Amazon is the parent company of Whole Foods Market, Audible, Zappos and others.

Headcount in the UK: 27,500 | Top UK locations: London, Luton, Manchester | Fastest-growing skills: Solution Architecture, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cloud Computing | Job functions with the most new hires: Operations, Engineering, Sales | What may surprise you: Amazon doesn’t use the brain teasers often employed in tech company interviews, telling LinkedIn the tricky questions are “unreliable when it comes to predicting a candidate’s success”.

Read more: Nearly 90% of UK shoppers use Amazon. | See jobs at Amazon | See people you may know at Amazon

Global headcount: 253,500 | Top UK locations: London, Bournemouth, Glasgow | Fastest-growing skills: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), HTML, JavaScript | Job functions with the most new hires: Finance, Engineering, Business Development | What may surprise you: JPMorgan has been aggressively preparing for the next generation of banking: the company invests $10.8bn a year to fund a team of 50,000 technologists across the globe. That’s more than Twitter and Facebook combined.

See jobs at JPMorgan Chase & Co. | See people you may know at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Headcount in the UK: 186,900 | Top UK locations: London, Birmingham, Coventry | Fastest-growing skills: Sales Management, Hospitality Industry, Market Research | Job functions with the most new hires: Support, Sales, Finance | What may surprise you: Last year, Sainsbury’s opened its first “till-free” store, allowing shoppers to bypass checkouts and pay for products with their phones.

Read more: Sainsbury's and Asda vow £1bn price cuts. | See jobs at Sainsbury's | See people you may know at Sainsbury's

Headcount in the UK: 17,000 | Top UK locations: London, Stevenage, Twickenham | Fastest-growing skills: Biochemistry, Cell Culture, Analytics | Job functions with the most new hires: Research, Operations, Sales | What may surprise you: GSK’s LGBT+ network, Spectrum, was voted best employee network group in the UK by Stonewall in 2019.

Read more: Here’s how to ace an interview at GSK. | See jobs at GSK | See people you may know at GSK

Headcount in the UK: 22,000 | Top UK locations: London, Manchester, Brighton | Fastest-growing skills: Financial Risk, Dental Care, Technical Support | Job functions with the most new hires: Health Care Services, Community and Social Services, Information Technology | What may surprise you: The entire executive team of Bupa’s UK insurance arm qualified as mental health first-aiders, able to help colleagues suffering from mental health challenges such as depression or anxiety.

Read more: Why Bupa embraces the career break. | See jobs at Bupa | See people you may know at Bupa

Global headcount: 82,000 | Top UK locations: London, Norwich, Manchester | Fastest-growing skills: Customer Experience, Administrative Assistance, Databases | Job functions with the most new hires: Operations, Real Estate, Business Development | What may surprise you: The Ethisphere Institute named JLL one of the world’s most ethical companies – for the 12th year in a row.

See jobs at JLL | See people you may know at JLL

Headcount in the UK: 48,700 | Top UK locations: London, Northampton, Glasgow | Fastest-growing skills: Economics, Java, Engineering | Job functions with the most new hires: Finance, Business Development, Information Technology | What may surprise you: Barclays has embraced “Dynamic Working”, a programme that encourages work flexibility. It’s one of the firm’s most popular benefits; 57% of global employees have reported working dynamically.

Read more: Barclays scores women’s football deal. | See jobs at Barclays | See people you may know at Barclays

Headcount in the UK: 16,000 | Top UK locations: London, Twickenham, Aberdeen | Fastest-growing skills: SQL, Software Development, Troubleshooting | Job functions with the most new hires: Engineering, Operations, Support | What may surprise you: BP has reversed traditional mentoring, pairing its 40-something senior executives with 20-something graduates in an effort to inject tech-industry cool into oil and energy.

See jobs at BP | See people you may know at BP

Global headcount: 36,600 | Top UK locations: London, Harrow, Kingston upon Thames | Fastest-growing skills: Mathematics, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Machine Learning | Job functions with the most new hires: Finance, Business Development, Information Technology | What may surprise you: Goldman Sachs recently made headlines for relaxing its dress code to keep in step with its predominantly millennial and Gen Z workforce. The bank also pledges to ensure half of its entry-level recruits are women.

Read more: Goldman doubles down on diversity. | See jobs at Goldman Sachs | See people you may know at Goldman Sachs

Headcount in the UK: 19,000 | Top UK locations: London, Leeds, Newcastle upon Tyne | Fastest-growing skills: Feasibility Studies, Project Estimation, Subcontracting | Job functions with the most new hires: Operations, Engineering, Information Technology | What may surprise you: Engie's transformation — it is divesting from polluting energies and investing in cleaner tech — has gotten jobseekers' attention: The company says it received 300,000 CVs in 2016 and ... 550,000 in 2018.

See jobs at Engie | See people you may know at Engie

Global headcount: 82,000 | Top UK locations: London, Aberdeen, Reading | Fastest-growing skills: Agile Methodologies, SQL, Software Development | Job functions with the most new hires: Engineering, Operations, Sales | What may surprise you: Shell is boosting its renewable and clean-energy efforts with two recent acquisition deals: “virtual power plant” creator Limejump and energy-storage company sonnen.

See jobs at Shell | See people you may know at Shell

Headcount in the UK: 11,500 | Top UK locations: Luton, London, Redhill | Fastest-growing skills: B737, Piloting, Flight Safety | Job functions with the most new hires: Operations, Engineering, Information Technology | What may surprise you: TUI has struggled in the wake of last summer’s heatwave and the recent grounding of Boeing 737 MAX jets – which account for about 10% of the company’s fleet. But TUI’s business is bolstered by its hotel and cruise-ship units.

Read more: Here’s how to ace an interview at TUI. | See jobs at TUI | See people you may know at TUI

Global headcount: 90,000 | Top UK locations: London, Birmingham, Glasgow | Fastest-growing skills: Market Research, Business Analysis, Stakeholder Management | Job functions with the most new hires: Operations, Engineering, Information Technology | What may surprise you: CBRE is partnering with Action for Children to raise £500,000 by next year to build homes for around 700 children and parents in the care system.

See jobs at CBRE | See people you may know at CBRE

Headcount in the UK: 15,000 | Top UK locations: Norwich, London, York | Fastest-growing skills: Financial Advisory, Banking, HTML | Job functions with the most new hires: Finance, Information Technology, Engineering | What may surprise you: Aviva has a “first day of school” policy for parents, where they can take a half-day to drop off or pick up their children when they start a new school.

Read more: Here’s how Aviva prioritises work-life balance. | See jobs at Aviva | See people you may know at Aviva

Walmart is the parent company of Asda, which is the UK-facing brand.

Global headcount: 145,000 | Top UK locations: Leeds, London, Birmingham | Fastest-growing skills: Professional Driving, ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library), Physical Security | Job functions with the most new hires: Operations, Sales, Support | What may surprise you: Asda and Sainsbury’s have offered to sell up to 150 supermarkets if the UK’s competition watchdog allows the firms to merge. The chains say the deal would pass £1bn in price cuts on to shoppers.

Read more: Asda named second-largest UK grocer. | See jobs at Asda | See people you may know at Asda

Headcount in the UK: 5,000 | Top UK locations: London, Reading, Hemel Hempstead | Fastest-growing skills: Data Management, Stakeholder Management, Immunology | Job functions with the most new hires: Sales, Marketing, Operations | What may surprise you: Employees at the J&J’s Wokingham Pinewood campus can schedule “walking meetings”, where they walk a half-mile trail in the nearby forest.

See jobs at Johnson & Johnson | See people you may know at Johnson & Johnson

Associated British Foods is the parent company of Primark, Twinings, Ovaltine, and others.

Global headcount: 137,000 | Top UK locations: London, Peterborough, Reading | Fastest-growing skills: Business Process, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Loss Prevention | Job functions with the most new hires: Education, Media and Communication, Program and Project Management | What may surprise you: Associated British Foods subsidiary Primark is going global in a big way: it’s the fastest-growing retailer in the US and also plans to open one million square feet of store space in Europe this year.

See more about Associated British Foods | See people you may know at Associated British Foods

Global headcount: 80,800 | Top UK locations: London, Manchester, Glasgow | Fastest-growing skills: Mood Boards, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Logistics Management | Job functions with the most new hires: Support, Sales, Operations | What may surprise you: M&S runs a work-placement programme called Marks & Start, which helps people struggling to find work – such as single parents, people with disabilities and people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness – build careers within the company.

Read more: M&S bags £750m Ocado tie-up. | See jobs at Marks and Spencer | See people you may know at Marks and Spencer

Alphabet is the parent company of Google, YouTube, Nest and others.

Global headcount: 98,800 | Top UK locations: London, Birmingham, Manchester | Fastest-growing skills: Matlab, Artificial Intelligence (AI), C# | Job functions with the most new hires: Engineering, Marketing, Media and Communication | What may surprise you: Alphabet is going all-in on London’s Kings Cross. Not only is Google set to get a new £1bn HQ in the neighbourhood, AI unit DeepMind will move into an 11-storey workspace in 2020.

Hear more: Google chef and employee #53 shares his story. | See jobs at Alphabet | See people you may know at Alphabet

Global headcount: 30,000 | Top UK locations: Northampton, London, Leicester | Fastest-growing skills: Administrative Assistance, Financial Accounting, Credit Control | Job functions with the most new hires: Sales, Operations, Support | What may surprise you: In a bid to improve work-life balance, Travis Perkins offers job sharing, where employees can split their shifts to better fit their lifestyles, in some industrial roles.

See jobs at Travis Perkins | See people you may know at Travis Perkins

Global headcount: 105,800 | Top UK locations: London, Ipswich, Newcastle upon Tyne | Fastest-growing skills: Digital Marketing, HTML, Data Analysis | Job functions with the most new hires: Engineering, Sales, Information Technology | What may surprise you: BT is working to develop tech literacy through its Barefoot Computing Project, training primary schools to teach computer science skills. More than 50,000 teachers have participated in 3,000 workshops across the UK.

See jobs at BT | See people you may know at BT

Centrica is the parent company of British Gas.

Global headcount: 30,500 | Top UK locations: London, Northampton, Leicester | Fastest-growing skills: Cloud Computing, Business Intelligence, Databases | Job functions with the most new hires: Operations, Engineering, Support | What may surprise you: Centrica is actively working to develop young talent through apprenticeships, two-week training workshops, and strong commitments to STEM education. The company told LinkedIn it aims to “inspire and develop 100,000 people with essential STEM skills” by 2030.

Read more: The experience you need to work at Centrica. | See jobs at Centrica | See people you may know at Centrica

SNC-Lavalin is the parent company of Atkins, which is the UK-facing brand.

Headcount in the UK: 7,300 | Top UK locations: London, Bristol, Kingston upon Thames | Fastest-growing skills: Arcgis Products, Matlab, SketchUp | Job functions with the most new hires: Engineering, Operations, Program and Project Management | What may surprise you: Now under SNC-Lavalin’s umbrella, Atkins – which already has a footprint across Europe, North America, and beyond — is looking to expand to new regions.

Read more: How to ace an interview at Atkins. | See jobs at Atkins | See people you may know at Atkins

Global headcount: 4,600 | Top UK locations: London, Bromley, Chelmsford | Fastest-growing skills: Business Process, Business Requirements, HTML | Job functions with the most new hires: Information Technology, Finance, Research | What may surprise you: Asset manager Schroders focuses on employee retention and development. 43% of staff have been at the company for at least six years, and nearly a third of UK roles were filled with internal candidates in 2017.

See jobs at Schroders | See people you may know at Schroders

Global headcount: 283,000 | Top UK locations: London, Gloucester, Stoke-on-Trent | Fastest-growing skills: Maintenance & Repair, Aviation, Onshore Operations | Job functions with the most new hires: Engineering, Operations, Information Technology | What may surprise you: GE has its hand in everything from energy to health care. The long-standing conglomerate said 2019 will be a “reset year” as it looks to revamp its power-related businesses while building on its strong growth within aviation.

See jobs at GE | See people you may know at GE

Share the full list and your thoughts on this year's Top Companies list using #LinkedInTopCompanies.

Methodology

LinkedIn ranks companies based on four pillars: interest in the company, engagement with employees, job demand and employee retention. Interest in the company is measured by unique, non-employee new follows of the company’s LinkedIn page. Employee engagement looks at how many non-employees are viewing unique employees at the company. Job demand counts the rate at which people are viewing and applying to jobs at the company, including both paid and unpaid job postings on LinkedIn. Employee retention measures how many employees are still at the company at least one year after their date of hire, based on LinkedIn member profiles. To be eligible, companies must have at least 500 employees as of Feb. 1 and must have flat or positive employee growth over the 12 months (based on LinkedIn Talent Insights data). Only parent companies rank on the list; majority-owned subsidiaries and associated data are wrapped into its total score. All data is normalised based on company size. The methodology and insights time frame is Feb. 1, 2018 through Jan. 31, 2019. All data is aggregated and anonymised to protect members’ private information.

We exclude all staffing and recruiting firms, nonprofits, educational institutions, government agencies and government-owned entities. We also exclude LinkedIn and LinkedIn’s parent company, Microsoft, from any LinkedIn Lists.

About company insights

Company insights were sourced from LinkedIn Talent Insights and include the parent company and majority-owned subsidiaries. Data reflects aggregated public member data from active LinkedIn profiles in the relevant country and includes full-time employee profiles associated with the parent company and majority-owned subsidiaries on LinkedIn. We exclude members who identify as part-time or contractors. Headcounts are provided by the companies directly or listed publicly, unless otherwise noted with an asterisk. Those headcounts are based on LinkedIn data. The insights reflect a 12-month time period looking back from February 2019.

Reported by: Katie Carroll, Orlando Crowcroft, Jessica Hartogs and Isabelle Roughol