Work for Freedom Leisure
Introduction to Freedom Leisure
Freedom Leisure is one of the largest charitable leisure trusts in the UK, currently operating 108 leisure centres along including theatres and heritage sites. Our annual turnover is around £100M and growing. We have more than 5,000 full and part time colleagues, the vast majority of whom work close to where they live – they work in their local community, rarely travelling long distances to work.
Community is important to us and our focus is on providing affordable and accessible local leisure, sport and community facilities for everyone in the communities we serve. We partner with local authorities and together, we work to provide what is needed, where it is needed and at a cost that is realistic for as many people as possible.
All our partners share our ethos to actively promote healthy lifestyles. Our aim is to offer great products and services in a friendly setting. “Improving lives through leisure” is our mission and what we aim to do. Our not-for-profit status and long-term partnerships with local authorities means we are focussed on more than money; our colleagues matter and our customers matter.
Community leisure is about much more than fitness and gym provision. Freedom Leisure serves the whole of each community offering a range of inclusive products and services. A key strength at Freedom Leisure is our people and their ability to engage with customers, help them feel comfortable and achieve their goals. That may be improving health, boosting fitness and strength or simply having fun and socialising – we firmly believe that leisure is about enjoying activity at whatever level.
Our people are an essential component of our product offering and services – everyone is important!
Why we’re working with Rest Less
The leisure market is competitive and we aim to be much more than ‘just a gym’ or ‘just the pool’. It is important that the what we offer really reflects our commitment to help all our customers enjoy activity, enjoy going after their goals and enjoy visiting and being a member of all our facilities.
Every member of our team, whether front-line at one of our sites or in a support function at site or centrally, has a role that contributes to us providing great experiences for all our customers. Being a member of our team means understanding why we are different and how to help all of our customers to gain the most from their time with us.
In line with what we offer to our customers, we aim to make working here more than ‘just a job’ – all our people are part of a team and all are important in making Freedom Leisure a great place to work, a great leisure operator and a reliable and trusted long-term partner making a difference in our communities. Our well-trained and supportive people are critical to our success.
Why work with Freedom Leisure
The community leisure services we operate are highly valued and make a real difference to health and wellbeing on a very local level. Working for Freedom Leisure allows you to play a very positive role in your local community, improving lives through leisure and making a genuine difference.
With our strong mission, our people tell us they enjoy working for us because of the friendly customers and colleagues. Most of our people are based at our sites, meeting customers as they enjoy swimming, exercising, socialising or other activities. They enjoy interacting with customers and it is the most important part of their role; it really contributes to a fun and enjoyable environment in which to work – it’s all about the experience for our customers!
There are a wide variety of roles within our various centres and sites and many people have more than one job and some at different locations, enjoying lots of diversity in the type of work they do. Freedom Leisure is large enough to be able to offer our colleagues many benefits, flexibility, plus a broad range of career opportunities, training and security. Many people have started with us as lifeguards or in reception roles and quickly progressed into management positions, or they diversify their experience and learn new skills that are rewarding and benefit them and our customers. The choices are many and variable. Although we’re a large employer, each contract and site operates in a devolved and bespoke way with its offer; this means our colleagues can feel part of a smaller, more local facility.
We are continually working on engaging with our colleagues, communicating with them and seeking their feedback. We like to listen to people and make changes when they put forward ideas and views, continuously developing the employment experience. Offering a good experience during recruitment and focussing on retaining our colleagues are key objectives for us. Without our teams we would not be able to deliver our services, so we value everyone who works for us.
Find your perfect opportunity at Freedom Leisure
Real-life stories
Changing your career track or transferring to a new company needn’t be daunting. We asked some of our valued team of carers to tell us about their experiences of working at Freedom Leisure. We hope they inspire you too.
David - Arun - Fitness Crew
David has been with Freedom Leisure for 5 years
What do you love about working for Freedom Leisure?
“I enjoy interacting with clients and helping them improve their fitness conditions.”
What is your greatest achievement at Freedom Leisure?
“Running spin and rehabilitation classes at Freedom Leisure would have to be my greatest achievement.”
What’s your advice for someone considering a career with us?
“I’d say go for it, take up all the opportunities that come your way, and give everything a try.”
How does your role fit in with your lifestyle?
“My job at Freedom Leisure fits in well with my lifestyle and my family live close by which makes it really convenient for me.”
Freedom Leisure diversity statement
As an employer, we actively seek to ensure that our workforce reflects the communities we serve, recognising that this makes us better able to understand their needs and priorities. We can only do this by ensuring that the people who work for us are the best they can be irrespective of age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, disability, marital status, religion, or belief.
You don’t have to be sporty to work for Freedom Leisure. We value the ideas and contributions from everybody and welcome and support difference. What matters to us is that we have friendly, talented, enthusiastic professionals working with us who can help deliver our strategic outcomes.
Freedom Leisure awards and partnerships
