Unilever 2006 Annual Report Download - page 143

140 Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2006
Financial Statements (continued)
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. Most 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.
AEuropean 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 2006.
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.
The company carries out an annual employee monitoring survey 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 2006 UK group companies made a total contribution of
£7.4 million, analysed as follows:
•Charitable donations: £1.6 million
•Community investment: £1.3 million
•Commercial initiatives in the community: £3.6 million
•Management costs: £0.9 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 United Kingdom 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
Aresolution will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting on
16 May 2007 for the re-appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
as auditors of PLC. The present appointment will end at the
conclusion of the Annual General Meeting.
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 Annual General Meeting of PLC held on 9 May 2006, authority
was given pursuant to Article 64 of the PLC Articles of Association to
make market purchases of PLC ordinary shares of 31⁄9peach, to a
maximum of 290 million shares. This authority will expire at the
Annual General Meeting on 16 May 2007, 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 on page 60 and in note 29 to the consolidated accounts
on pages 117 to 121.
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
2006 comprises this page and the information contained in the report
of the Directors on pages 5 to 64 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 on pages 60 and 62,
Dividends on page 145, Principal group companies and non-current
investments on pages 129 and 130, and significant shareholders
of PLC as disclosed on page 141.
In accordance with Section 463 of the United Kingdom 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
PO Box 68
Unilever House
100 Victoria Embankment
London EC4P 4BQ
Unilever PLC Registered Office
Port Sunlight
Wirral
Merseyside CH62 4ZD
Unilever PLC Registrars
Computershare Investor Services PLC
PO Box 82
The Pavilions
Bridgwater Road
Bristol BS99 7NH
By Order of the Board
J A A van der Bijl
S G Williams
Joint Secretaries of Unilever PLC
6March 2007