Further statutory and other information – Unilever PLC

Employee involvement and communication

Unilever's UK companies maintain formal processes to inform, consult and involve employees and their representatives. A high proportion of the United Kingdom sites are accredited to the Investors in People standard. Our sites also use tools such as Total Productive Maintenance which rely heavily on employee involvement, contribution and commitment.

A European Works Council, embracing employee and management representatives from countries within Europe, has been in existence for several years and provides a forum for discussing issues that extend across national boundaries.

The directors' reports of the United Kingdom group companies contain more details about how they have communicated with their employees during 2007.

Equal opportunities and diversity

The heads of all operating companies and units in the UK have committed their businesses to achieving greater diversity. Every Unilever company in the United Kingdom has an equal opportunities policy and actively pursues equality of opportunity for all employees.

Our equal opportunities policy is designed, among other things, to ensure that people with disabilities, and other under-represented groups, are given the same training, development and prospects as other employees.

The company carries out regular employee monitoring surveys and has also conducted an equal pay audit. The company continues to review ways in which greater diversity can be achieved in recruitment and selection.

The company continues to put in place policies which promote the achievement of diversity in the business. We have policies on home working, flexible working, maternity and paternity leave, child care provision and career breaks, which help us to meet this objective.

Charitable and other contributions

Unilever collates the cost of its community involvement activities using the London Benchmarking Group model. The model recommends the separation of charitable donations, community investment, commercial initiatives in the community and management costs relating to the programme of activity.

During 2007 UK group companies made a total contribution of £6.6 million, analysed as follows:

  • Charitable donations: £1 million.
  • Community investment: £1.24 million.
  • Commercial initiatives in the community: £4.1 million.
  • Management costs: £0.25 million.

No donation or contribution was made or expenditure incurred for political purposes.

Supplier payment policies

Individual operating companies are responsible for agreeing the terms and conditions under which business transactions with their suppliers are conducted. The directors' reports of the United Kingdom operating companies give information about their supplier payment policies as required by the UK Companies Act 1985. PLC, as a holding company, does not itself make any relevant payments in this respect.

Auditors and disclosure of information to auditors

A resolution will be proposed at the AGM on 14 May 2008 for the re-appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors of PLC. The present appointment will end at the conclusion of the AGM.

To the best of each of the Directors' knowledge and belief, and having made appropriate enquiries of other officers of the Unilever Group, all information relevant to enabling the auditors to provide their opinions on PLC's consolidated and parent company accounts has been provided. Each of the Directors has taken all reasonable steps to ensure their awareness of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditors are aware of any such information.

Authority to purchase own shares

At the AGM of PLC held on 16 May 2007, authority was given pursuant to Article 64 of the PLC Articles of Association to make market purchases of PLC ordinary shares of 31/9p each, to a maximum of 290 million shares. This authority will expire at the AGM on 14 May 2008, and a resolution will be proposed to renew the authority.

Details of shares purchased by an employee share trust and Unilever group companies to satisfy options granted under PLC's employee share schemes are given in the report of the Remuneration Committee and in note 29 to the consolidated accounts.

Directors' report of PLC

For the purposes of Section 234 of the Companies Act 1985, the Directors' Report of Unilever PLC for the year ended 31 December 2007 comprises this page and the information contained in the report of the Directors which includes the Company's position on environment and corporate responsibility matters, the report of the Remuneration Committee in respect of Directors' interests in shares or debentures of the Group, Dividends in note 8, Principal group companies and non-current investments, significant shareholders of PLC as disclosed in Shareholder information, and financial instruments and treasury risk management in note 17. The information required to be given pursuant to Section 992 of the UK Companies Act 2006 is covered elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Business review

The UK Companies Act 2006 requires Unilever PLC to set out in this report a fair review of the business of the Group during the financial year ended 31 December 2007 including a description of the principal risks and uncertainties facing the Group and an analysis of the position of the Group's business at the end of the financial year, known as a 'Business review'.

The information that fulfils the current Business review requirements can be found on the following pages of this Annual Report which are incorporated into this report by reference:

In accordance with Section 463 of the UK Companies Act 2006, the Directors' responsibility for the Directors' report and the report of the Remuneration Committee, which responsibility shall be governed by English law, shall be owed only to PLC (to the extent envisaged in Section 463) and not to any other person.

Corporate Centre

Unilever PLC
Unilever House
100 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DY

Unilever PLC Registered Office

Port Sunlight
Wirral
Merseyside CH62 4ZD

Unilever PLC Registrars

Computershare Investor Services PLC
The Pavilions
Bridgwater Road
Bristol BS99 6ZY

By Order of the Board

S H M A Dumoulin

Secretary of Unilever PLC

10 March 2008