Notes to the accounts

11 Employees

	Year ended 31 July 2008		Period ended 31 July 2007
		Total (all continuing) £m	Continuing £m	Discontinued £m	Total £m
Staff costs during the period
Wages and salaries		545.8	528.1	295.6	823.7
Social security		67.3	62.4	25.4	87.8
Share-based payment (note 31)		12.9	10.4	3.5	13.9
Pension costs (including defined contribution schemes) (note 10)		36.4	44.3	18.0	62.3
		662.4	645.2	342.5	987.7

The average number of persons employed was:

	Year ended 31 July 2008	Period ended 31 July 2007
Detection	2,300	2,100
Medical	8,400	8,000
Specialty Engineering:
John Crane	6,400	5,600
Specialty – Other	5,500	5,100
Continuing operations	22,600	20,800
Discontinued operations		8,300
	22,600	29,100

Key management

The key management of the Group comprises Smiths Group plc Board directors and Group Managing Directors who are not Board members during the year and their aggregate compensation is shown below. Details of directors’ remuneration are contained in the report of the Remuneration Committee.

	Year ended 31 July 2008 £m	Period ended 31 July 2007 £m
Key management compensation
Salaries and short-term employee benefits	7.6	6.6
Cost of post-retirement benefits	1.0	1.2
Cost of share-based incentive plans	5.6	2.8

No member of key management had any material interest during the period in a contract of significance (other than a service contract or a qualifying third party indemnity provision) with the Company or any of its subsidiaries. Options and awards held at the end of the period by key management in respect of the Company’s share-based incentive plans were:

	Year ended 31 July 2008		Period ended 31 July 2007
	Number of instruments ’000	Weighted average price	Number of instruments ’000	Weighted average price
CIP	306	£0.00	425	£0.00
DSS			109	£0.00
ESOS	177	£8.06	413	£8.57
PSP	795	£0.00	1,067	£0.00
SAYE	9	£8.32	14	£6.96

The disclosure above does not include options held by individuals who retired before the year end.

Smiths Group divisions:
Smiths Detection, Smiths Medical, John Crane, Smiths Interconnect, Flex-Tek