FIVE Scottish organisations have been recognised for their commitment to equality, featuring among the top 100 LGBT employers in the UK.

The top employer north of the Border is careers service Skills Development Scotland (SDS), which has also been given a special commendation as one of the UK’s top trans-inclusive employers.

SDS is 18th in the list drawn up by LGBT charity Stonewall, while the Golden Jubilee Foundation is in 37th place. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service sits at 51 while the Scottish Government is at 72 – lagging behind the National Assembly for Wales, which shared fifth place with Newcastle City Council.

Despite higher education institutions from across the UK dominating this year’s list, City of Glasgow College in 81st place is the only one from Scotland to make it into the top 100.

However, Stonewall said this year was the most competitive since the charity began compiling the list, with 445 employers vying for selection.

International law firm Pinsent Masons takes the top spot in the list which is published today.

Stonewall’s report found that more than a third of LGBT staff have hidden they are LGBT at work and 18% of LGBT employees have been the target of negative comments from colleagues because of their identity. One in eight trans employees has been physically attacked by a colleague or customer in the last year.

The Golden Jubilee Foundation is a public hospital that is independently run by its own NHS board. Its chair, Susan Douglas-Scott, said that as a woman, a lesbian and a disabled person, equality and inclusion was very important to her both professionally and personally.

“At a time when we are planning significant expansion at Golden Jubilee, it is vital that we are able to recruit and retain a diverse workforce to provide the best possible care for our patients and high-quality services for our hotel customers,” she said.

The Scottish Government said it was “delighted” to be in included in the top 100. “We have worked hard to send an unwavering message about our commitment to LGBTI equality and inclusion,” said Sarah Davidson, director general of organisational development and operations, and senior Scottish Government champion for diversity and inclusion.

“We have refreshed our trans policy and guidance, ensuring lived experience was at the heart of its development. We provide platforms for LGBTI role models, voices and experiences to be heard across the organisation, and we have embedded trans-inclusion into the design principles that are shaping our buildings and facilities. We are firmly committed

to continuing to build an inclusive workplace where people feel valued and respected for who they are.”