How TopTenTrades scores a business: the full methodology

Transparency is central to what TopTenTrades is. We ask businesses to meet high ethical standards — it would be contradictory to apply those standards opaquely. This article explains exactly how our Social Ethics Score (SES) is calculated, what data we use, and how we handle edge cases.

The five pillars

Every business is scored across five pillars. Each pillar is scored from 0–10, multiplied by its weight, and summed to produce a total out of 100.

• Mission & Governance (20%): Legal structure, mission statement, third-party governance certifications
• Community Investment (25%): Charitable giving, community sponsorship, Charity Commission verification
• Fair Tax Contribution (20%): Effective UK corporation tax rate, offshore structure checks, Fair Tax Mark
• Inclusive Employment (25%): Living Wage accreditation, zero-hours contract rate, gender pay gap, employment tribunal history
• Cause Promotion (10%): Employee volunteering, public advocacy, signed commitments (e.g. SME Climate Pledge)

Data sources

We use only publicly available data. No business self-reports its own score.

• Companies House: Legal structure, accounts, directorship history, incorporation date
• HMRC: Corporation tax records, adverse findings (where publicly available)
• Charity Commission: Registered donations, charity partnerships
• Living Wage Foundation: Accredited employer register
• Employment Tribunal Service: Public record of tribunal outcomes
• B Lab UK: B-Corp certified business register
• Fair Tax Foundation: Fair Tax Mark certification register
• CIC Regulator: Community Interest Company register

Score modifiers

Beyond the base pillar scores, we apply positive and negative modifiers for specific verified findings:

• B-Corp certification: +15% to Governance pillar score
• Fair Tax Mark: +20% to Tax pillar score
• Living Wage Foundation accreditation: +20% to Employment pillar
• CIC or EOT legal structure: +15% to Governance pillar
• Employment tribunal loss (5yr): −10% per loss from Employment pillar
• HMRC dispute or penalty (public record): −15% from Tax pillar

Score tiers

• Outstanding: 90–100
• Exemplary: 75–89
• Responsible: 60–74
• Committed: Below 60

Annual re-score

All verified businesses are re-scored annually. We pull fresh data from public registers and recalculate scores. Businesses that have improved their practices — achieved Living Wage accreditation, restructured to EOT, or increased charitable giving — will see their score improve. Businesses that have declined — tribunal losses, new offshore structures, reduced giving — will see scores fall.

What we do not score

We do not score customer reviews, star ratings, or subjective quality of service. A business might be an outstanding ethical employer but occasionally get a bad review. That is separate from social responsibility, and conflating them would undermine the integrity of the score.