Healthy life balance

Hybrid working, core hours and zero overtime policies mean that our team have the opportunity to manage their time better - both in and out of the office.

I have a young family so working from home and the flexible hours policy mean I can remain just as productive at work but in a way that reduces the impact on family life - this is invaluable to me.

Lauren Jaques - Genus Client Financial Controller

We are providing a premium service for clients – but we make sure that this is without compromising our principles – something we’re deeply passionate about.  We are an award-winning firm, but alongside awards recognising the work we do for our clients, we are also immensely proud to have been named Best Employer in Tax at the Tolley’s Taxation Awards 2022 and Employer of the Year at the 2023 Yorkshire Accountancy Awards. So whilst we look after our clients well, we know that we are also looking after our team.

Because personal time is valuable for every team member at all levels and is fundamentally important to personal well-being, we do not expect any of our team to work more than the basic weekly hours. And we do monitor this, with

  • HR Dashboards report on overtime statistics. The current average of just below 1hr per person per month is well below the industry average
  • management lead by example and do not work overtime
  • partners often chat to the team before leaving at the end of the day to ensure nobody is feeling under pressure to stay late
  • conversations will be held with anyone posting overtime to discuss the situation and determine whether workload can be reallocated etc.

Tolley's taxation award winner    Tolley's taxation award winner

Interview with Accounting Podcaster



Committed to zero overtime

Rob Brown is a best-selling author and host of the successful podcast, ‘The Accounting Influencers‘ with a global audience of over 35,000 accounting professionals.

An expert in getting to the core of any accounting topic, Rob interviews Managing Partner, Andy Irvine to understand why getting overall overtime stats down to nil is one of his top priorities.

Our experiences - in our own words

Alicia Williams, Client Finance Director

"The flexible working at Shorts is a big advantage – particularly as I have three children. It allows me to rearrange my day when the unexpected happens without the stress and pressure of needing to be in the office. I can now do some of the school pickups as well so my work/life balance has really improved as I have never been in the position to do this previously. I really enjoy working at Shorts and look forward to seeing the progression over the coming years."

Lauren Jaques, Genus Client Financial Controller

"I feel Shorts really do care about having a good work/life balance and as I have a young family at home this is invaluable. The working from home policy and the flexible hours means I can remain just as productive at work but in a way that reduces the impact on family life which is rare.

As I complete another year with the firm, I can see that there is still potential for me to keep developing and moving forward with the brilliant Team I work with."

Daniel Thomas, Audit and Accounts Assistant Manager

"Before I joined people were talking to me and saying that Shorts were much better than other firms, and it's a more relaxed sort of environment. And you're always a bit wary until you join. Then after the first few weeks, I actually realised, yes, at 4.30 pm you can actually go home. And your whole work-life balance just changes completely. Since I joined, I just started picking up all the hobbies that I wasn't doing."

Ian Robinson, Audit and Accounts Senior Manager

"After having met 4 of the partners through the interview process, I was left feeling that they were all very personable, and easy-going and I felt that I could comfortably work with them and be treated as an equal. They really stressed the importance to them of work-life balance & how this is a key element of the culture within the firm and I can honestly say that they practice what they preach – they lead by example and don’t expect of others what they are not prepared to do themselves. The firm is very flexible in terms of its working practices and having 2 offices helps with this."

David Robinson, Tax Partner

"After starting my career in Birmingham and Leeds, I started to consider relocating back home to South Yorkshire, for family reasons. Having worked at that time exclusively for large, mid-tier accounting firms, I was looking for a local firm that was progressive, could offer excellent career opportunities and had a good work-life balance. Shorts fitted the bill as it is a growing, advisory led firm willing to invest in good people.

The Partners and senior team members all pull in the same direction, have a friendly open-door policy and promote a healthy, family orientated work-life balance. I truly believe that Shorts is a great place to work."

Liam Buttery, Senior Manager - OMB

"The core hours policy, and hybrid working have both been instrumental in my quality of work-life balance. A perfect example for me – playing a sport in England that isn’t your typical British sport, Ice Hockey, means we play/train at incredibly unsociable hours – specifically training at 11pm on a Sunday night, until the early hours of Monday morning. Being able to work from home on a Monday, and also utilising the later start of the core hours policy (where my diary allows), means that I can still get the sufficient rest before starting the working day on Monday morning. This has always been a huge issue for me at previous firms, so the impact these policies have had on my personal life is monumental."

Life at Shorts

  • Beginning your career
  • Career Progression
  • Enjoying our work
  • Charity
  • Employee Benefits
  • Team News
  • Working at Shorts
  • Career Opportunities

Beginning your career
First steps

Our recruitment program includes many just starting out on their career journey in accountancy.

Whether joining through our graduate program, as an apprentice, or studying for higher qualifications, all of our trainees are fully supported throughout their training journey, and many stay with us after completing their studies.

Career Progression

Career Progression
and development

For many, completing professional qualifications is only the beginning of their journey. Understanding how to achieve a promotion or climb the career ladder is the natural next step.

So, our Management Development Program is designed specifically for those individuals wanting to understand, plan and navigate their route to promotion.

Through a program of structured courses, mentoring, and training we continue to support our team throughout their development journey.

Enjoying our work

Enjoying our work
Time and space to enjoy what we do

Image of the team relaxing during a break

We don’t work to unrealistic timescales and never accept client work that we are unable to fulfil.

We aim to manage our employee levels to ensure that our team is always around 15% over capacity at any time, meaning that they should never feel overwhelmed or under undue pressure

Consequently, our team have the appropriate time to focus on their work – time to think, time to analyse, and time to bounce off one another with ideas. Not only does this lead to improved job satisfaction, but also results in higher levels of client service.

Charity

Charity
and volunteering

Our team regularly takes part in local and national fundraising events and all team members have the opportunity to take part in one volunteering day each year. There is an opportunity to get involved in

– sporting events, tournaments and challenges
– cake sales
– Christmas events
– Local charity collections

Employee Benefits

Employee Benefits
What's in it for you

Those who work for Shorts can expect all the stuff you would normally expect from a really progressive form, and lots more besides.

Team News

Team News
What we've been up to

We work together, celebrate our successes together and always share our team news.

To find out more about what’s been happening recently, visit our LinkedIn page.

Working at Shorts

Working at Shorts
and what it's really like

We have created an environment where our team feel supported, developed and happy.

We provide our team with a blend of interesting and challenging work with time to contribute their own ideas, concentrate on personal development whilst ensuring a healthy life balance, both in and out of work.

Career Opportunities

Career Opportunities
Current vacancies

Interested in working at Shorts?

Visit our careers pages for details of our current vacancies.

Beginning your career

Team News

Our recent Team News

On the shortlist: 3x Insider South Yorkshire Dealmakers Awards (2024)

The Shorts team is excited and proud to have been shortlisted once again for the 2024 Insider South Yorkshire Dealmakers Awards. Following on from our four category wins at last year's event, we are thrilled to have been shortlisted for three awards this year.

Read more

Football Shirt Friday – The Bobby Moore Fund

  The Shorts team joined in with 2024’s Football Shirt Friday, a wonderful initiative supporting Cancer Research UK’s Bobby Moore Fund. This event not only raises awareness but also provides direct support to vital research in the fight against bowel cancer. Set up in memory of legendary World Cup-winning England captain Bobby Moore, who sadly died of bowel cancer in 1993, the fund enables pioneering research dedicated to early detection and diagnosis, improved treatments, and reducing inequalities in cases.

Read more

Retirement celebrations for three of the team at Shorts

Although it's sad when team members leave, when they are leaving for retirement it is also a time to celebrate. Three members of our team have retired over recent weeks and we have been wishing them all long and happy retirements, whilst taking a moment to look back over their time with Shorts and celebrate their careers.

Read more

We’re always open to talking to great people. If you feel that Shorts would be a great fit for your next career move, then why not send us your contact details; we’ll give you a call and maybe meet up to chat over coffee? (If you’d prefer to send us your CV, you can add that too) As part of our commitment to promote diversity we ask that candidates remove any personal traits such as name and date of birth as part of our initial screening process thus enabling us to make talent decisions based on skills and experience.