Employers with charity programmes, including salary sacrifice schemes and volunteering initiatives, are actively being sought by a third of those looking for work, research has found.

Top priorities for job seekers from charitable employers are volunteering days, fundraising events and seasonal charitable activities.

Charity schemes are also popular with existing staff.

Three in four employees at firms or organisations with charity initiatives report high levels of engagement with their workplace, compared to just over half of workers where there are no such schemes.

More than seven in ten workers with charity initiatives say they want to stay with their current employer. The same proportion say they would recommend their charity focused workplace to others, while this drops to less than half among those working for firms without such an interest in good causes.

Meanwhile, two in three workers where their employer has charity initiatives, rated their bosses as “good” when it comes to creating and maintaining employee engagement. The proportion is less than two in five among employers without charity link ups.

Alistair Gill, an employee engagement expert said employers need to “adapt to keep up” with workers’ interest in charity work.

Commenting on the research, which has been published by soft drinks firm Britvic, he said: “The fact that the research tells us that people are increasingly using wellbeing and CSR as selection criteria for where they choose to work further proves how important this link is becoming.”

He added: “A focus on people, both directly and indirectly, has never been more important. This research shows us that charity initiatives are no longer tick boxes but instead a critical ingredient in how we craft our workplaces for the future of work. And anything that positively affects how people feel is good for business.

“This research shows that time spent doing charitable work pays dividends to employee engagement, and we know engagement is a huge lever for business success.

“With UK levels of engagement being at some of the lowest globally and with growth and innovation stagnating, it has never been more critical to take seriously the human element of how work works — that fundamental connection between wellbeing and engagement and ultimate business success.”

Research published in September, by social value platform What Impact, warned that two in five charities in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland who want to collaborate with the private sector have yet to find a corporate partner.

The proportion is even more stark in Wales, where three in five are not working with a business in a corporate partnership despite wanting to.

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