What it's like working at... Atkins

Director Brian Fitzgerald provides a snapshot of life inside design and engineering consultancy Atkins.

Vital stats

• Head office: Epsom, Surrey
• Turnover: £1.26bn
• Chief executive: Keith Clarke
• Employees: 16,800
• Primary business: Design and engineering consultancy

How many days annual leave?

Standard is 25 days with the option to buy or sell up to five days.

Can you take them when you want?

Yes, although employees may be asked to take up to three and a half days at Christmas.

Incentivisation - what percentage of staff can earn a bonus?

All staff have the opportunity to earn a bonus via the discretionary bonus scheme.

What is your churn rate?

13.8%

Is there a good work-life balance?

Yes. We encourage flexible working among all our employees. We have a flexible leave scheme, offer enhanced maternity and paternity benefits and allow home working where appropriate.

What help is there towards employees' fitness?

Through a company called Incorpore, all our employees can access the lowest corporate discount rate at more than 1,000 gyms nationwide. We have run the government-backed bike4work scheme for the past two years, which offers employees the opportunity to use a new bike to travel to and from work and save tax and national insurance on this.

Is there a free annual eye sight check-up?

We offer free eye checks biennially.

How do you ensure employees are comfortable while at their place of work?

In various ways: we have an employee assistance programme, which is a confidential support and counselling service that employees can contact 24/7. Among the services it offers are guidance and counselling on work and personal problems. We have break-out areas and cafeterias in a number of our offices. We encourage all employees to carry out a risk assessment of their desk and immediate working environment.

What is the average days sick/year?

5.87 days per year.

What training do you offer?

We offer training and development courses designed to help employees to make the best of their abilities and talents. The framework is based on four key areas of knowledge and skills:

Technical - covers key areas of technical and professional competence.

People - includes key areas of managing performance, change and interpersonal relationships.

Stakeholder - to strengthen abilities in areas of selling professional services and creating and managing relationships with key clients.

Commercial - develops key areas of project, business and commercial management skills.

Do you have an apprenticeship scheme?

Everyone who joins us as a graduate will follow our accredited professional development scheme with the aim of becoming accredited with the most appropriate professional body. There is a comprehensive portfolio of training available to enhance the knowledge, skills and behaviour of all. There's more information about the graduate scheme on our website.

How many women do you employ?

27% of our permanent workforce is female.