Back to the basics – what are share plans? Share plans are means for companies to reward employees. Most often, these plans are established to improve motivation and boost productivity, by giving employees a stake in the company or share options. The more profitable the company gets, the more likely it is that employees will…

October 29, 2020 Read more >

Given the nature of our business, it will be unsurprising that we think share plans have an important role to play for companies weathering the current economic storms.  However, this view has been reaffirmed by the recent release by HMRC of research it commissioned into share plans.  The research was conducted independently and amongst its…

October 29, 2020 Read more >

In light of the deepening effect of COVID-19, here are some thoughts designed to help remuneration committees as they turn their minds to bonus awards for 2020 and performance metrics for both short- and long-term awards in 2021. Annual bonus awards for 2020 Performance measures and targets for 2020 will have been set at the…

October 29, 2020 Read more >

Share dilution happens when a company issues additional shares, reducing the proportion of a shareholder’s current ownership. The issue of new stock can be seen as a positive sign when, for example, it is used to raise money for expansion, to invest in competition or to introduce new products. On the other hand, existing shareholders…

September 28, 2020 Read more >

A new clause was added to the Finance Bill 2020 (which should shortly be section 107 of Finance Act 2020) in June, which provides a time-limited exception for EMI option holders who are unable to meet the necessary ‘working time’ requirements as a result of COVID-19. (See here for a discussion in our June Newsletter).…

July 30, 2020 Read more >

On 8 June 2020, HMRC published the Employment Related Securities Bulletin 35 which addresses certain issues concerning the impact of COVID -19 on employee share schemes. A brief summary of the bulletin is set out below. Click here for the full bulletin. Enterprise Management Incentives (EMIs) With regard to EMI, the bulletin states that HMRC…

June 29, 2020 Read more >

But is now a good time to adopt a new employee share plan? A recent report, published by The Social Market Foundation (“the SMF”), in February 2020 was entitled “Strengthening employee share ownership in the UK”.  This report was both supported and funded by the Investment Association. The SMF is an independent British political public…

May 28, 2020 Read more >

Deferred Share Plans get over the first major hurdle (just about…) Without doubt, it is always difficult being an early adopter and trying something new. Those in new areas of the economy talk about being at the “bleeding edge” rather than the leading edge when it comes to changing things.  As we explored in a…

May 28, 2020 Read more >

Share and share option plan reporting for 2019/20 Overview If your company operates a share or share option plan for employees or directors (including non-executive directors) you will need to report any awards by filing electronically with HMRC (as well as reporting the adoption of the plan if it is the first year in which…

April 30, 2020 Read more >

Budget 2020 – some things you might have seen and some of the things lost in the details Having had an opportunity to revisit the recent Budget, it really can be seen as being a mix of direct responses to the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as planning for the future (including in a post-Brexit world!).…

March 31, 2020 Read more >

Towards the wider use of deferred share plans Study by the “Purposeful Company” The Purposeful Company is an independent voluntary think tank set up in 2015 with the support of the Bank of England to help transform British Business by identifying with like-minded companies changes to policy and practice aimed at creating long-term value. The…

November 19, 2019 Read more >

Latest statistics for all-employee share plans ProShare issued its Save-As-You-Earn (SAYE) & Share Incentive Plan (SIP) Report in respect of the 2018 calendar year on 25 June 2019.  HMRC published its latest statistics on tax-advantaged share plans for the tax year 2017-18 on 27 June 2019. This article extracts details from the two data sources…

July 30, 2019 Read more >