A total of 60 businesses received recognition in the hospitality sector, including Individual Restaurants - marking its third consecutive year on the list - alongside Burger King UK, Hawksmoor, JKS Restaurants, Wingstop UKI, Flat Iron and Permanently Unique Group.
The list spans a total of 567 organisations across the UK recognised for outstanding workplace culture, employee engagement and overall experience across four main size-based categories from small (10-49 employees), medium (50-249), big (250-1999) and very big (2000+).
Ardent Pub Group - which operates The Cadogan Arms in Chelsea, The George in Fitzrovia and The Hound in Chiswick - has been listed among the top ten medium-sized places to work.
The Times highlighted the hospitality group’s staff benefits and internal promotion record, noting that 70% of managers have been promoted from within alongside perks including free Birkenstocks for chefs, gym discounts and private healthcare after one year of service.
The recognition follows the group’s relaunch under its new name, having formerly operated as JKS Pubs before a management buyout led by founder and managing director Dominic Jacobs in December 2025. The business has reported 20% year-on-year sales growth alongside a 40% increase in EBITDA and is targeting further openings across London and beyond over the next three to five years.
Jacobs says: “This means a great deal to us. Ardent is built entirely on people - the teams who show up every day and make the experience what it is.
“To be recognised at this level is a reflection of their commitment and the culture we have worked hard to build together.”
Popeyes UK has been included in the very big organisations category for a second consecutive year. The quick-service restaurant group, which employs more than 3,600 people across 110 UK restaurants, was also highly commended in the ethnic minorities spotlight award, recognising positive workplace experiences reported by employees from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The recognition follows a period of continued growth for the business, which was recently named Europe’s fastest-growing food and beverage company in the FT 1000 list and is preparing to open its first site in the Republic of Ireland next month.
“Being recognised through feedback from our own teams – or Joy Creators as we call them - makes this particularly meaningful, and we’re determined to keep fostering our people first culture as Popeyes continues to scale across the UK and Ireland,” says Matt Hudson, chief people officer at Popeyes UK.
The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list is compiled via an independent employee survey conducted through WorkL, measuring factors including reward and recognition, instilling pride, sharing information, empowerment, wellbeing and job satisfaction.
Rankings are determined entirely by employee responses, with no input from employers.
The 2026 list features a total of 28 categories, including separate Spotlight Awards for performance on diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and industry-specific recognitions across nine sectors.