PRESS RELEASES

Wilton & Bain Named in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026

Wilton & Bain has been recognised in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026, winning two awards: a place on the prestigious national list and the Industry Award for Best Medium-Sized Business & Management Services Firm.

What the Award Means

The Sunday Times Best Places to Work is recognised as one of the most credible employer benchmarks in the UK.

The list is determined entirely by independent employee feedback; there is no nomination process or shortcuts.

Organisations are assessed across six dimensions of WorkL’s workplace engagement framework: Reward & Recognition, Instilling Pride, Information Sharing, Empowerment, Wellbeing, and Job Satisfaction.

Only firms achieving the highest engagement thresholds across these categories receive recognition.

This is a return to the list for us, having previously been recognised in 2023, and this time, we are medal holders!

The Data

The statistics from the report is what we are most proud of. Here’s what the Wilton & Bain Team said:

• 96% of people said they have a good relationship with their manager
• 95% said they feel safe in their working environment
• 95% said they are treated with respect
• 93% said they are happy with the hours they work
• 93% said they feel trusted by management and colleagues to make decisions
• 93% said their organisation cares for their wellbeing
• 91% said they feel proud to work for Wilton & Bain
• 91% said they would recommend Wilton & Bain as a place to work to friends and family

Words from the Team

David Heron, Group CEO, shows his gratitude for the individuals who make our team what it is:

“This award is for all of the people who have worked so tirelessly to support Wilton & Bain over the last 12m. Our clients for trusting us with their most important searches and; our people for their relentless drive, focus on quality, and most importantly sense of fun; our Partners for taking our brand to market, and selling our story; our Board, who have belived in me (us) even when things have been tricky & who have helped us to find the right path; and our families who have put up with ‘constant work chat’, long days and occasional stressful nights! Thank you. Really proud of everyone involved; and to everyone who has worn the Wilton & Bain shirt with pride over the years. It is business, but it’s personal. The best is yet to come.”

Zarina Contractor, Managing Partner at Wilton & Bain, talks about the journey she has been on with the firm:

“It’s official: Wilton & Bain have been recognised again as one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work in 2026, as well as winning the Industry award. This is my 16th year at the firm, and it certainly hasn’t always been smooth sailing. 2 recessions, a pandemic, the uncertainties (and opportunities) presented by AI…but what’s kept us going, and growing, is a relentless commitment to creating a culture that our wonderful team want to be a part of. Congratulations to all my colleagues, and thank you. Excited to see what we can achieve next- the best is yet to come!”

For those newer to the business, the award gives weight to what they had already observed from the inside. Sam Temperton, who joined in January 2026 says:

“I joined in January, so I’m only five months in. But it didn’t take long to understand why this business has the reputation it does. The culture here is genuinely collaborative – not as a value written on a wall, but in how the work actually gets done. What’s stood out most is how generous people are with their time and guidance, especially the senior leaders. In a lot of firms, experience and knowledge gets hoarded, consciously or not. Here it doesn’t. For a recruiter working at the senior end of the market, that kind of environment isn’t just a nice perk, it makes you meaningfully better at the job. A shoutout to David Heron and the leadership team for the culture they’re driving here.”

Jacob Humbert, Lead of our North American P&C Practice says:

“Amazing news for our entire team at Wilton & Bain—but honestly, not at all surprising to me or anyone who works here. Too often, culture is something companies and firms put on signs around the office or on their website without truly living those values. Here at Wilton & Bain, we live and breathe our dedication to culture every day – which is so easy to do when you’re working with great people. Doing great work for our clients and candidates is our passion, but doing it alongside people we genuinely care about is our privilege. Congrats!”

Hannah Robb, Partner in the Global Finance Practice, who joined the team a year ago:

“I joined Wilton & Bain a year ago to help build something. 12 months in, I’m more convinced than ever that we are building something exceptional. This is just the start.”

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Find Out More

Everyone at Wilton & Bain is so proud of this award. It’s recognition of what we have always believed: that the quality of the work we do for clients and candidates comes directly from the strength of the team doing it. We are proud of what we have built, and excited about what comes next.

Read the full Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026 list to see where Wilton & Bain sits among the UK’s top employers.

To find out more about the culture behind these results, learn more about Wilton & Bain.

Learn more at wilton-bain.com