Entries are now open for the 2025 Irish News Workplace & Employment Awards, marking the 17th year of celebrating the best places to work in Ireland.
A launch dinner at Waterman House, Belfast, brought together sponsors and stakeholders to kick-off this year’s awards.
Free to enter, the awards serve as a hallmark of workplace excellence, providing a platform to recognise and reward outstanding businesses.
The initiative honours the best places to work across Ireland and has evolved into one of the country’s most prestigious business awards, attracting hundreds of entries and culminating in a high-profile presentation ceremony attended by over 500 guests.
“The Irish News Workplace & Employment Awards are now a benchmark for workplace excellence, company culture, employee development, and business leadership,” said Annette McManus, Chief Marketing Officer at IntoMedia Group.
“We’re excited to introduce two new categories for 2025: Business Leader of the Year and Young Business Leader of the Year. These awards celebrate outstanding leaders who bring vision, leadership, and influence to their organisation or industry. We encourage businesses of all sizes to get involved and share their success.
“A huge thank you to our sponsors for their ongoing support in making these awards possible.”
This year, there are 11 award categories. Nine awards will be divided into SME and Large Business categories, while Best Place to Work and Team of the Year will be split into Small, Medium, and Large Business categories.
The categories are as follows:
- Best Place to Work
- Team of the Year
- Business Leader of the Year
- Young Business Leader of the Year
- Best Graduate or Training Scheme
- Best Employee Development Programme
- Best Wellbeing in the Workplace Strategy
- Best Diversity, Equality & Inclusion
- Best Sustainable Business Award
- Corporate Social Responsibility Programme of the Year
- Innovation in Workplace Technology
Businesses across Ireland are now invited to submit their entries at irishnews.com/wea. Winners will be celebrated at a prestigious black-tie gala at Titanic Belfast on Thursday, 29 May 2025.