Veolia Named a 'Best Place to Work' for Fourth Year in a Row

For the fourth year in a row, Veolia has been named on the Sunday Times ‘Best Places to Work’ list. 

Through an employee survey, the company saw strong results in job satisfaction, empowerment, wellbeing, instilling pride and D&I.

“This recognition is particularly meaningful for our teams who are the face of Veolia in communities across the country,” says Pascal Hauret, Managing Director for Municipal at Veolia in the UK. 

“Our 14,000 colleagues truly embody our purpose and when our employees tell us this is a great place to work, it shows we're making real progress – and we're committed to continuing that journey.”

Inclusive hiring practices

In the survey, Veolia scored a -1 in diversity and inclusion, on a scale from -100 to +100, where a score closest to zero is best. 

The company says it takes “immense pride” in its approach to championing an inclusive culture – particularly through its hiring processes, where it seeks to attract talent from diverse communities. 

This includes a partnership with Big Issue Recruit in 2025, where it provided tailored training and mentoring to people at risk of homelessness or long-term unemployment, to help find them stable employment. In the partnership, 22 people were supported in a process of reintegrating into the workforce, and six participants were offered employment opportunities with Veolia’s Brent branch. 

Veolia also offers an in-house prison leaver programme, which allows those nearing the end of a sentence to engage in work via release on a temporary license, while also helping ex-offenders return to the world of work

The company was previously recognised as a Top 50 Employer of Veterans, thanks to policies such as guaranteed interviews for qualified veterans, active partnerships with Armed Forces Employment Charities and tailored onboarding and development support for military talent. 

A commitment to wellbeing

The company also received an overall happiness and wellbeing score of 78%. According to Veolia, it is currently “actively pursuing” a strategy of creating a culture that can attract the best talent through employee advocacy. 

This follows the launch of Veolia’s 2026 inclusion and wellbeing commitments, which set out how the company plans to embed inclusion and wellbeing into its work and culture. 

The company has four key commitments: bringing generations together, increasing representation, creating a sense of belonging and caring for its people. These initiatives, Veolia says, are “brought to life” through company initiatives such as 50+ talent, a diverse employee advisory board and virtual GP and wellbeing site visits. 

Many company resources are provided through its ‘Veolia Cares’ programme, which was first deployed in September 2023 – offering every employee parental leave, health and death cover, support for caregivers and a paid day off every year to volunteer with a charity or with an environmental protection organisation.

“At Veolia, we are convinced that the professional and personal well-being of our employees is crucial to their commitment,” Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, said of the programme.

“They are the driving force behind the Group's performance and development. This is why we have launched this unprecedented programme for our 213,000 employees on five continents.

"In the years to come, the challenges of ecological transformation will become ever greater, and it is thanks to the strength, solidarity and inclusiveness of our collective that we will be able to meet them."