Durban, 25th August 2011: Unilever South Africa ranked No1 Large Sized Employer and No1 FMCG Employer at the CFR SA Best Employers Awards 2011. Unilever also ranked 4th on the Overall Best Employer. Antoinette Irvine, HR. Vice President, Unilever South Africa, received the award on behalf of the company at an awards function in Johannesburg last night.

In 2010, the company had ranked 5th in Large Sized Employer category; and were placed 11th in the overall Best Employer category.

According to Antoinette, "People are at the heart of our business, we believe they are the reason for our success. We are very proud to see that this is now being acknowledged externally as well. We have worked very hard to get here, and we will continue to do our best to improve our scores next year."

Microsoft SA (Pty) Ltd ranked No1 Best Employer followed by Accenture SA (Pty) Ltd, SAP South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Unilever SA, Ernst & Young, Vodacom Group Limited, Netcare Limited, Peninsula Beverage Company, Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs Inc. and Procter & Gamble SA (Pty) Ltd.

A total of 69 organisations were accredited as Best Employers in 2011 - which is a 20% increase from 2010. The Certification Index identifies choice employers through administrating the International HR policy and practice research survey; proprietary of the CRF Institute.

The Index is a result of research with findings independently audited by Grant Thornton South Africa. Organisations were rated in the following areas: organisation strategy; the HR function; communication; diversity management; corporate social responsibility; knowledge management; talent management and engagement; performance management; and rewards and recognition.

About Unilever South Africa: Unilever South Africa (Pty Ltd), is one of the largest FMCG companies in South Africa. The Company is over 100 years old, with brands like Sunlight, OMO, Lux, Knorr, Vaseline etc that are household names throughout the country. Unilever South Africa has over 3000 employees based across two offices and five manufacturing locations in South Africa. It is rated as one of South Africa's best employers.

For more information visit - www.unilever.co.za

For media enquiries:
Tilottama Pillai
Unilever
Tilottama.Pillai@unilever.com