Good Employment Week returns from 5 to 9 October 2026, bringing together employers, employees and stakeholders to explore the role workplace culture plays in creating good employment across Greater Manchester.
Led by the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter and supported by the Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester, this year’s campaign will focus on the theme of workplace culture. Understanding how workplace environments influence employee experience, organisational performance and workforce wellbeing.
The week’s activity will centre around the question: “What does your Work Feel Like?” and will encourage residents across the city-region to reflect on their experiences of work.
Throughout the week, employees across Greater Manchester can select words that best describe their experience of work, through an interactive online word cloud. Responses will update in real time throughout the week, creating a live picture of how people across the city-region describe their working lives.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Craig said: “Greater Manchester is leading the way in raising employment standards and creating better workplaces. Over 2,500 employers have engaged with the Good Employment Charter and there are now more than 3 million employees working for organisations who are signed up.
We’re putting the Good Employment Charter at the heart of our approach to good growth, by investing and working with partners who share our values of fairness, dignity and opportunity.
It is helping employers across Greater Manchester create workplaces where people can earn fair pay, develop their careers and thrive at work, while building stronger and more productive organisations. Good Employment Week is a chance to celebrate that progress and encourage even more employers to get involved.”
The campaign reflects the Charter’s ongoing commitment to supporting employers to create workplaces where people can thrive, while encouraging wider conversations about the importance of workplace culture.
Ian MacArthur, Director of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, said:
“The Charter has always been about helping employers create good jobs. As that work has evolved, we’re become increasingly interested in the culture that sits behind those jobs. Policies matter, but so do trust, respect, belonging and purpose. Good Employment Week is an opportunity to explore those conversations and continue building a city-region where good employment becomes the norm.”
Employees and employers across Greater Manchester are encouraged to take part in the weeks activities and contribute to the conversation about what good workplace culture feels like in practice.
Further information, including event details and opportunities to get involved is available at: www.goodemploymentweek.co.uk