Workplace

Employer of Choice

The development and delivery of Halfords' customer offer both in our retail stores and autocentres would not have been possible without the unfailing support and commitment of our colleagues employed across all our operations. Consequently, we recognise that our colleagues are our single most valuable asset and we are committed to a fair but robust approach to equal opportunities in all areas of our business, with people gaining promotion on merit. We have high expectations of all colleagues and everyone is required to perform and deliver value. This creates an environment that is challenging and rewarding, enabling colleagues to develop quickly and pursue new opportunities.

We are committed to being seen as an employer of choice within the communities in which we operate. We seek to employ people who are passionate about customers, love coming to work, strive to achieve their best and enjoy dealing with customers and delivering our "helpful" message.

We recognise and reward high performance and by ensuring colleagues have interesting jobs, with real accountability, Halfords can provide the opportunity to develop careers. Over the years we have worked hard to provide an environment in which people are keen to work and our turnover rates both in our retail stores and autocentres are monitored on a regular basis.

Our commitment to our customers means we are able to add value to their purchases with our fitting services. This requires the majority of our colleagues to be properly trained in the fitting of, amongst other products, bulbs, blades, batteries, child seats and roof boxes. Our desire to become famous for being "helpful" means that FY12 has seen a 20.4% increase in the number of our retail staff holding accredited fitting qualifications, whilst c.60% of our autocentre workshop colleagues hold a Motor Industry qualification.

To ensure the best and the most consistent garaging servicing, Halfords Autocentres also run a Training Academy apprenticeship programme, which currently has approximately 140 apprentices. All go through a three-year fully funded programme and will complete as qualified Technicians with an Institute of the Motor Industry NVQ level 3 and a Diploma. In addition, they will each complete an Automotive Technician Accreditation (ATA) assessment and we provide ongoing development opportunities through our IMI accredited Academy of Learning where we can deliver a range of both Technical and Management qualifications from foundation level voluntary qualifications through to degree equivalents.

Diversity

Halfords has an Equal Opportunities Policy which outlines regulatory requirements as well as the organisation's commitments regarding diversity and expectations of staff. The current workforce in our stores and autocentres may not always be reflective of our community base, but we feel it does reflect our customer base and the types of services we provide, with 26% of our total colleague population being women.

Health & Safety Management

Halfords is committed to high standards of occupational health & safety to minimise the risk of injuries and ill health to employees, contractors, customers, visitors and others who come into contact with the business. Our overall annual incident rate remains below the benchmarks of the industries we operate in.