A building society has been recognised for "world-class levels of workplace engagement" by an accreditation body.

The Carlisle-based Cumberland Building Society was awarded three-star accreditation by Best Companies.

The accreditation is awarded for exceptional workplace engagement.

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

Jill Johnston, 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.

"I’m so passionate about having an environment where people can bring their authentic selves to work and thrive in what they do.

"The feedback in the survey reinforces how connected our colleagues are to our Kinder Banking purpose, and this really translates in how they interact with each other as a team and also the service that they provide to our customers."

Nearly 90% of the Cumberland's workforce participated in the feedback process used by Best Companies to determine the award.

Recent company initiatives include a menopause policy, work to improve mental health, and the implementation of a neurodiversity toolkit in partnership with the charity Owl Blue.

The Cumberland encourages its team to take a paid day off annually to contribute to charities and organisations.

More than 160 employees participated in that scheme last year, supporting a variety of organisations such as Oak Tree Animals' Charity and Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

Best Companies also produces annual rankings of the companies it deems best to work for.

The Cumberland was ranked 67th among large employers and 12th in financial services.

The Cumberland is Cumbria's largest financial institution, with assets of £3.2bn and £2.59bn in mortgage lending.