O2 recognised as 5th íBest Big Companyí to work for in the UK

O2 UK Ltd. and O2 Airwave Ltd. today announces that it has been named one of the top employers in the UK, being ranked 5th in The Sunday Timesí 2007 Best Big Companies to Work For List.

As well as coming 5th in the List O2 has achieved the highest ranking ever for a mobile operator and has been awarded a two-star accreditation denoting an íoutstandingí company. In addition to this O2 was given first place in the ìBest for Well Beingî category and was short-listed in the ìBest for Giving Something Backî category. An outstanding achievement for the first year that O2 has participated in The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For survey.

This ranking is based on extensive research of company employees, assessing workplace culture, practices and employee sentiment towards their employers. The íBest Companiesí accolade is awarded through three separate Lists to the best small, mid-sized and large companies that achieve the highest scores within their respective categories.

Matthew Key, CEO O2 UK commented: ìI would like to thank all our employees for helping to make O2 the success that it is today. This ranking confirms the great strides weíve made towards reaching our ambition of becoming one of the best places to work in the UK. O2ís success is a team effort and thatís what makes this award so special.î

O2 encourages its employees to shape the company from the inside out. Along with feedback mechanisms like O2ís Employee Forum and OpenVoice, an online anonymous discussion forum, O2ís employees have the chance to influence company strategy through the Real Directors programme. The Real Directors are people working in frontline customer service positions who have been selected to take their customer insights back up to the boardroom.

O2 also believes that it is important to recognise and reward employees through fun initiatives such as the Spirit of O2 Awards. Every year the company looks for the stars of O2, employees who are making a difference every day to their colleagues and customers. Each person has the opportunity to nominate someone or a team they feel has made a difference so they truly are the peopleís awards. The finalists are then invited to the Spirit of O2 Awards night ñ a much anticipated, loved and coveted event.

As part of making O2 a great place to work, O2 aims to help employees achieve a good work / life balance by providing a wide range of health and wellbeing services. This includes the extensive health and well-being programme, Balance, which covers nutrition, exercise and well-being. O2 also has a number of initiatives that allow its people to make a difference in the community. For example, O2 has joined forces with youth charity Weston Spirit to deliver a unique mentoring programme within local schools.

All of O2ís UK business units participated in the survey, which includes O2ís calls centres, retail outlets and the emergency services communications company O2 Airwave.