The Cumberland Building Society has been given the highest possible accreditation by an employee engagement specialist.

Best Companies has awarded the Carlisle-based mutual a three-star accreditation.

This honour is given to companies who offer "world-class levels of workplace engagement."

Cumberland chief executive Des Moore said he was "bursting with pride."

Jill Johnston, the society's chief people and sustainability officer, said: "Put simply, I’m ecstatic about this result and what it means for everyone at the Cumberland.

"Achieving this world-class rating is not easy.

"It is thanks to the significant progress, change and effort from every single person in the organisation who collectively work together to make this workplace somewhere everyone belongs.

"People make the Cumberland."

The employees' deep connection to the society’s 'kinder banking' purpose and their level of customer service were highlighted in the survey results.

The findings were based on feedback from almost 90 per cent of The Cumberland Building Society's workforce.

To preserve the honesty and integrity of the evaluations, all feedback was kept anonymous.

Positive performance in the 'giving something back' and 'wellbeing' domains, compared to last year's two-star rating, marked an increase in accreditation.

The society has recently introduced a number of wellbeing initiatives, including a menopause policy, a mental health improvement programme, and a partnership with the charity Owl Blue to provide a neurodiversity toolkit.

The Cumberland Building Society also initiated a policy of granting staff one paid day off every year to volunteer for local charities.

More than 160 employees took up this opportunity last year, contributing their time to organisations including FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria, Oak Tree Animals’ Charity, and Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

The Cumberland Building Society has shown considerable financial support for FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria by providing £250,000 a year to its 'Kinder Kind of Kitchen' programme, which has subsequently delivered around 482,018 meals through 52 foodbanks and community food hubs.

The society, boasting assets of £3.2 billion, is the largest financial institution in Cumbria and maintains its commitments towards mortgage lending of £2.59 billion across Cumbria, Northumberland, Lancashire, and southwest Scotland.