City Building has become the first Scottish company in its sector to be named as a “Carer Positive Employer”.

The Glasgow construction firm received the accolade by the Carer Positive initiative, which is operated by Carers Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, with the aim of making life better for those who have responsibilities to look after dependent family members.

City Building had to demonstrate an awareness of carers within its workforce and show what commitment it has made to support them through workplace policies and practices.

The support systems established by the firm includes its leave for dependents policy, flexible working policy, support from line managers, HR and occupational health and employee assistance.

In order to raise awareness of the support offered the company promotes the policy and practices on its intranet and publicises it on promotional material around the office and its sites across Glasgow.

Graham Paterson, executive director at City Building, said: “We are very pleased to receive ‘Carer Positive Employer’ status for our efforts to support our workforce.

“We have carried out surveys to identify the number of carers in our operation and have put measures in place with their immediate line managers in order to flexibly manage workloads to accommodate their responsibilities.

“We recognise how challenging being a carer can be and are happy to work with our team to create a working environment that is mindful of their obligations.”

Robert McFadden, carer and City Building employee, said: “It is such a relief and benefit to have an understanding employer willing to help ease the pressure on those of us who have carer responsibilities.

“The flexibility City Building provides means I don’t have the added stress of worrying about how I’m going to organise my work when arrangements go awry as my line manager will work with me to help manage this.”