Message from Val Gooding, Chief Executive,

Founded in 1947 BUPA is the UK market leader in health and care services with a strong international presence. The Group celebrates its Diamond Jubilee in 2007.BUPA’s strategy and scope of activities are consistent with its founding principle – to prevent, relieve and cure sickness and ill health of every kind. The group is constantly innovating to meet the needs of the sector and move the healthcare agenda forward, reacting to changes in the socio-economic environment in the markets where it operates. BUPA has an excellent acquisition track record both in the UK and abroad which has complemented and built on the company’s own organic growth.

BUPA’s success story is not just about the services it offers or the countries that it now operates in. The foundation of its success has been the excellence of its people. They are its greatest asset with some 46,000 in over 190 countries and BUPA is committed to supporting all its employees balance their work commitments with the needs of their families.BUPA is committed to equality and diversity in its workforce. A workplace which is inclusive and diverse makes good business sense and helps deliver better customer care. BUPA has established a diversity steering group which measures the organisation’s race, gender and disability make-up. By the end of 2006, in the UK, 20 percent of its employees were from ethnic minorities, more than double the figure for the country as a whole. Some 81 per cent of BUPA’s employees are female and the company has recognised that in the modern world people want or need to be more adaptable to accommodate both their professional and lifestyle commitments.

In 2001 the company formalised its approach to flexible working hours by introducing the ‘Balancing One Life’ initiative for its UK insurance business. The scheme was initially aimed at those highly competent women who chose not to return to work post maternity leave because there was little flexibility in working hours. BUPA had found that in addition to losing highly skilled staff it was facing difficulties in recruiting talented women which in turn led to higher recruitment and training costs. As the scheme was introduced it was apparent that flexible hours were welcomed by most employees, both men and women, and not just working mothers. More families are sharing the responsibility for childcare or for looking after elderly relatives. Other member of staff had individual needs to consider such as balancing a career with continuing their education.

BUPA UK Health Insurance noticed a significant positive impact on staff turnover following the introduction of flexible hours. This has a number of clear benefits for the organisation. There has been a reduction in recruitment and training costs and a marked improvement in staff morale, which in turn has led to improved staff performance and higher customer satisfaction ratings.

BUPA has a strong commitment to playing an active role in the communities where it operates; after all it has over eight million customers worldwide. It encourages employees to support local and national community initiatives such as Comic Relief, Children in Need and the BUPA sponsored Great Run series. Other initiatives include BUPA people acting as mentors for teenagers with behavioural problems and BUPA volunteers helping local primary school children improve their reading and literacy skills through the BUPA Book Buddies scheme.

In 2007 as part of the programme of events to mark BUPA’s 60^th anniversary, sixty members of staff from around the world will travel to an orphanage in northern Thailand to support children with HIV or AIDs. The commitment to these and other CSR activities are an integral part of staff development, which encourage teamwork and responsibility, raise staff morale and engender pride in the organisation.BUPA’s human resource team continually develops the package of flexible working options that it offers employees. It takes into account changes in working practices, local and marketplace conditions as well as consulting its employees on what arrangements work best for them. By reacting to change and adapting to new challenges BUPA ensures that it will continue to retain and attract the best people for its business