Healthy living is another aspect of employee wellbeing that we value highly. We are working to give employees the help and support they need to make positive changes to their lifestyle. We see this kind of encouragement as a clear and positive way to add value to our relationship with our teams. That is why we encourage each of our businesses to do what they can to promote and develop a healthy living agenda among their employees.
By division
For the year end 31 March
| 2011*
% | 2010
% |
| Health & Beauty | 2.9% | 3.2% |
| Pharmaceutical Wholesale | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Contract Manufacturing & Corporate | 4.0% | 3.4% |
| 3.3% | 3.5% |
The employee absence rate due to illness for the Group for the year ended 31 March 2011 was 3.3% of the total number of contractual hours, compared with 3.5% the previous year
Alliance Healthcare Norge is part of an initiative backed by Norway’s Social Security Administration (SSA) to help long-term unemployed people regain their confidence and find a job. We offer a programme of training in a job role to people who want to return to work. While at Alliance Healthcare Norge, the individual is allocated a mentor, who will provide support throughout their assignment. For those who do well at their training, we are committed to a follow-up in which we help them to go on and find a job.
A Boots UK doctor visited an Alliance Boots support office to advise employees on improving their well being. This included looking at posture, diet, lighting and the height of computer screens. In advance of the doctor’s visit, employees could undertake an online health assessment via the main Boots website.
The team in Thailand provided support to the flood victims of the floods in Thailand in March 2011 as well as supporting Gurda House in Bangkok.
In addition, in May 2010, the team in Thailand experienced significant upheaval following political unrest. During this time of turmoil, our overall priority was, of course, the security of our people whose commitment to keeping the business afloat was truly inspiring. On 19 May, arson attacks on the Big C Rajadamri – home to Boots Retail Thailand Head Office – resulted in the severe damage of its first floor store and support office. Similarly, the store located within the Central World Shopping Centre also experienced fire damage at this time. However, despite these operational setbacks, soon after order was restored, the management team was able to return the majority of stores back to full working capacity.
Ornella Barra, who is responsible for the international development of the Boots brand, praised all our people in Thailand and commented: “During the riots, the safety of our people was our main priority and the performance of our teams throughout this difficult time was outstanding. The flow of medicine delivery was, near enough, uninterrupted and we continued to make healthcare accessible to all our customers. This is an amazing achievement given the severity of the circumstances and I would personally like to thank everyone involved for their dedication and hard work.”
Alliance Healthcare Russia has participated in Pfizer’s anti-smoking campaign. This included the use of their thought-provoking poster campaign which aims to dispel the myths and give the true facts about nicotine addiction. Myths such as “Smoking light cigarettes is safer”, or “If you smoke less than five cigarettes a day, then it is not harmful”.
A narcologist was invited to speak on the causes of nicotine addiction. Using special equipment the doctor measured each smoker’s lung volume and made an analysis of the air they were breathing out – about 100 employees chose to do this.