The rankings and awards were decided according to the Family Experience Score (FES). Customer responses from a Germany-wide survey on eight concrete performance achievements were totted up with 731 companies from 73 areas of business being ranked as family-friendly on a scale of 0 to 100.
Bayer 04 received an FES of 76.3 putting them second in the ranking of German clubs – just behind Borussia Mönchengladbach and ahead of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. All 18 Bundesliga clubs were rated.
“The award is appreciation for the members of staff at Bayer 04,” declared Fernando Carro, the Bayer 04 CEO. “We have always paid close attention to being family-friendly. And that will remain so in the future.”
On the evaluation system:
The Family Experience Score (FES) was developed in association with the Institute for Psychology at the Goethe-University in Frankfurt am Main. To assess the family-friendliness of companies, a representative group of customers, living in households with one or more children, were presented with the following eight statements:
1. The range of products and services is designed for families and children.
2. The staff are friendly to families and children.
3. I feel in good hands there with my child.
4. Additional provision is made for families and children (e.g. range of games).
5. The environment is suitable for families and children.
6. Statements and promises made to families and children are adhered to.
7. Needs of families and children are met.
8. There is value for money for families and children.
The people surveyed rated each statement according to a five-stage scale. The FES was calculated as an average of all the statements with each statement being weighted the same. That produced the rankings with the overall result for the individual companies being represented in index points on a scale of 0 (zero approval) to 100 (complete approval).
In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Following the summer break, most of the players are back in Leverkusen. While two Bayer 04 first-team players are still in action at the World Cup, the players present officially kicked off the new season with fitness assessments. At the Werkstatt, the Bayer 04 rehabilitation and training centre, Robert Andrich, Edmond Tapsoba and the rest of the squad worked up quite a sweat in the sweltering summer heat. New signings Afonso Moreira and Kennet Eichhorn also successfully completed the day’s sessions alongside their new team-mates.
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The Werkself return tomorrow, Tuesday 14 July (from 11:00 CEST at the BayArena; live stream on bayer04.de, the Bayer 04 app and YouTube), with new head coach Carles Martínez leading his first training session as part of the Bayer 04 set-up. His coaching team comprises a mix of new and long-standing colleagues.
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The FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico is underway. A total of eight Leverkusen players are taking part in the 23rd World Cup, with 48 teams in the tournament for the first time. Bayer04.de brings you all the latest from Werkself players at the World Cup.
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