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About Us
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People are central to Primark’s business strategy. Investing in its colleagues, protecting its culture and maintaining a highly engaged workforce are key elements of the business’s ongoing success.
Colleagues at Primark's Oxford Street East store, London, UK
Primark’s health and safety strategy sets out its commitment to embedding robust health, safety and welfare standards across the business. Primark’s priority is to maintain clear, non-negotiable standards delivered by its colleagues, creating safe environments for its customers, people and communities.
In 2026, several regional initiatives supported the delivery of the strategy across the business. A health and safety values and behaviours matrix was developed to support leaders, managers and colleagues in embedding positive health and safety behaviours. This includes promoting safety, leading by example, reporting hazards and encouraging honest feedback. In the UK, interactive challenges were used to raise awareness of common causes of Lost Time Injuries (‘LTIs’). In the Republic of Ireland, a programme was launched which delivered a targeted focus on safety during peak trading. The Netherlands piloted ‘Take 5 for Safety Conversations’, an initiative designed to encourage open dialogue about safety and strengthen shared responsibility for identifying and addressing risks in the workplace. Several markets also marked World Day for Safety and Health at Work through leadership events, knowledge sharing and safety awareness activities.
In 2026, the number of employee on-site LTIs increased from 213 in 2025 to 221, resulting in an employee LTI rate of 0.44%. The number of contractor on-site LTIs increased from 32 in 2025 to 35. While acknowledging the challenges with this performance, Primark notes that all regions except two recorded either lower or unchanged employee LTI levels compared with the previous year. The increase was primarily driven by the UK. Analysis identified stock handling, equipment movement and stockroom activities as the principal causes of UK injuries. In response, Primark has implemented targeted initiatives, including enhanced safety leadership training, strengthened operational controls, improved stockroom and delivery processes, and the introduction of additional risk controls for higher-risk activities. These actions are intended to support a sustained reduction in workplace injuries.
Primark continues to use its Incident Notification System to report, investigate and learn from all incidents and near misses, supported by a clear commitment to root cause analysis through its Incident and Accident Management procedure. This is complemented by a comprehensive Environmental Health and Safety audit programme, covering both compliance and safety behaviours, with independent, unannounced audits conducted annually across all sites.
The Spark Wellbeing Programme aims to promote one of Primark’s company values ‘Caring’, and help colleagues be their best selves, whether at home or at work. Spark focuses on three pillars:
Within Spark, Primark offers mental health support initiatives such as the Mental Health First Responder programme, which has been in place since 2022. Primark aims to have up to four responders in every store, depending on store size, and have responders in every office and depot. In 2025, Primark held refresher training for all existing responders to ensure they are familiar with the framework, to give responders an opportunity to check in with a clinical expert and to share experiences. This training has continued to roll out in 2026, and Primark is training new responders where required.
Primark also offers the Let’s Talk Employee Assistance Programme, which enables colleagues and members of their households to access free, confidential and independent 24/7 support in local languages around mental health, legal and financial matters. Part of this service also ensures on-site support is offered in the event of a critical incident.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 183 | 161 | 192 | 213 | 221 |
| Employee rate | 0.4% | 0.34% | 0.37% | 0.42% | 0.44% |
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 72,110 | 76,857 | 82,123 | 82,676 | 81,358 |
| Percentage of Women | 78% | 77% | 77% | 77% | 77% |
Primark continues to implement various initiatives to make its products, stores and workplaces more accessible for customers, colleagues and job applicants.
Across its markets, Primark also continues to strengthen partnerships with organisations that support disabled people and others who may face barriers to entering the labour market. The business has more than 100 employability partnerships, ranging from large national programmes to smaller local initiatives, helping to create opportunities and support inclusive recruitment.
In 2026, Primark refreshed its adaptive clothing range by introducing new styles and colourways, and enhancing designs based on customer feedback. The range also grew to include new products such as stoma underwear and adaptive swimwear for women and men. Through its ongoing partnership with AccessAble, Primark reviewed all new stores and major refits across the UK and Republic of Ireland, helping to ensure customers have access to accurate and up-to-date accessibility information as its store estate continues to expand.
Primark's progress in adaptive clothing has been recognised externally in both the inaugural Forbes Accessibility 100 list and the Forbes Accessibility 200 list. It was also named a Zero Project Awardee for innovations that support the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Primark continued its broader work in the areas of inclusion and community impact, for more information see its latest UK Gender Pay Gap report from 2025.
Creating an engaged workforce means fostering open dialogue and empowering colleagues to help shape the business. Primark’s colleague engagement survey, Your Voice, enables colleagues to share feedback and ideas, with the insights gathered informing policies and strategies on the issues that matter most to them.
Primark’s values, ‘Caring, Dynamic and Together’, remain a core part of the colleague experience, with local teams continuing to bring them to life in ways that are relevant and meaningful within each market. This is supported through translated resources, ongoing engagement activities and targeted local investment.
In 2026, Primark has made significant investments in leadership development, career pathways and accessible bite-sized learning. Primark’s digital learning platform is currently available to over 17,000 colleagues, with plans to extend access to all Primark colleagues globally. Primark’s internal careers site launched in August 2025 and was rolled out across most markets between February and March 2026, helping colleagues explore opportunities and take the next step in their careers.
Primark continues to equip leaders to positively impact the people they lead, with more than 700 colleagues between September 2025 and 2026 participating in a leadership development programme. Further programmes are being developed to ensure Primark has a relevant development programme in place to support all managers and leaders across the business. ‘Grow With Us’ is a suite of career development programmes designed to prepare store colleagues for progression across Primark’s retail management levels. Between June 2025 and September 2026, more than 170 colleagues who had completed a 'Grow With Us' programme have been promoted. As of September 2026, 46% of leadership roles overall are filled by women.
Primark colleagues at the store in Lanzarote, Spain
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Primark’s breast cancer awareness campaign spotlighted three women on their own breast cancer journeys
Primark’s adaptive fashion range was developed alongside Victoria Jenkins, pictured top centre in this campaign image
