Microsoft and Google top the list for this year's best places to work in Europe, with Google also being named the best workplace in the UK. Academee, the learning solutions specialists, came in at seventh place.

Compiled by the Great Place to Work Institute and published by the Financial Times, the list defines a great place to work as: "A place where the employees trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do, and enjoy the people they work with."

Williams Johnson Mota, business development and sales manager for the Great Place to Work Institute, said: "Effective people management is increasingly recognised as a key driver for business success, delivering greater productivity and lowering costs through reduced employee turnover."

In the UK, the top 10 looks like this:

1. Google
2. Structure Group
3. Asthma UK
4. Impact
5. Novo Nordisk
6. Beaverbrooks the Jewellers
7. Academee
8. Fishburn Hedges
9. Yell
10. Admiral Group

Nikesh Arora, president of european operations at Google, said: "We are delighted to receive the prestigious accolade of being named the UK's best workplace. This award is dedicated to all the Googlers who make the company so successful. Our employees have created a fantastic culture of innovation, creativity and success. We have managed to grow the organisation extremely quickly without losing our core focus on supporting and developing our most important asset, our people."

Clare Roberts, managing director of learning solutions specialist Academee, which was awarded seventh place, said: "We are proud of our entrepreneurial spirit, the high levels of trust and support in our workplace and our strong client focus. We aim to create an environment where individuals can grow and develop and to offer employees working solutions that benefit both them and the business."