Compiled by Best Companies, the name behind The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list, the survey of 276,000 employees rates firms from one to three stars.

Shine Communications, Lexis PR, Brands2Life and Bite Communications were among just 50 firms to achieve the top three-star grade.

Based on staff feedback and looking to acknowledge excellence in the workplace, companies are awarded one star for first class, two stars for outstanding and three stars for extraordinary performance.

Blue Rubicon, Golin Harris, MS&L, Text 100 and The Red Consultancy received two-star ratings, with Edelman, Engine, Fleishman Hillard, Lansons Communications, Consolidated PR and Waggener Edstrom receiving one star.

A total of 1,086 organisations from the private and public sectors applied for Best Companies Accreditation this year, with 410 firms being accredited and another 363 organisations achieving One To Watch Status.

Jonathan Austin, CEO and founder, Best Companies commented: 'An engaged workforce is essential as organisations move out of the recession and into a more stable economic situation. No doubt many organisations have tackled redundancies and rapid change this year. But only those that have kept on engaging their staff and making sure they are involved in the business will be in a good position for the future. Those that have ignored this and lost the trust and goodwill of their staff will find the recovery more difficult. In fact, they may never win back the faith of their employees.'

The Best Companies 2010 star status accreditation ceremony will be held later in the spring.