Diversity
Within the United Kingdom (UK) our culture, working patterns and buying habits continue to change rapidly alongside our changing demographics. Our family and societal norms are also changing dramatically and probably more rapidly than many anticipated.
We fully understand that it's essential for us to attract and retain diverse employees and customers from all sectors of the community if we're going to remain competitive. We serve the whole community, and our ability to respond to the needs of all our customers is clearly enhanced if our own community within Boots UK is equally diverse. Recruiting, retaining and promoting diverse employees is critical to our success in this rapidly changing marketplace.
Of the people we employ, around 11% come from an ethnic minority background. However this is not reflected at all levels in Boots UK and work continues to address this. We have diversity policies relating to gender, race, religion, belief, age, disability and sexual orientation. These policies are constantly reviewed in light of changes in legislation and best practice, as well as the changing demographics and make-up of our society.
Number of employees (as at 31 March 2011) - 63,472
Employees by type

| Employees by type as at 31st March 2011 |
| Full time |
36.1% |
| Part time |
63.9% |
By contract type

| By contract type as at 31st March 2011 |
| Permanent |
96.1% |
| Temporary or fixed term |
3.9% |
Employees by gender

| Employees by gender as at 31st March 2011 |
| Men |
20.7% |
| Women |
79.3% |