MM&K (the UK partner firm in the GECN group) has published its 2023 research on how the world’s largest firms use ESG (environmental, social, governance) metrics in their executive incentive plans. Download your free copy here. We researched the world’s top firms for how they use ESG metrics when paying their CEOs. A category among…

January 26, 2023 Read more >

On 22 December 2022, HMRC published its tax avoidance bulletin Spotlight 61 – ‘Disguised remuneration: remuneration trusts used to reduce profits and disguise income’ which follows the warning given by HMRC in Spotlight 51 and Spotlight 56 about remuneration trust tax avoidance schemes and explained why these do not work. HMRC have noticed that certain…

January 26, 2023 Read more >

When the dictionaries are updated for the words and phrases of 2021, it is a sure bet that “hybrid working” will be on the list.  But what does this phrase really mean? At its heart, it is an acknowledgment that how we think about people working has to be confronted. Yet, what is equally obvious…

December 7, 2021 Read more >

On Wednesday 24th February, the Investment Association published an update on its previous guidance seeking to update IA member expectations on how Remuneration Committees should be reflecting the impact of COVID-19 on executive pay. The main thrust of the update was an addendum to the original guidance that it published in November 2020 which we…

February 25, 2021 Read more >

The roller-coaster that was 2020:  The FTSE100 index entered 2020 at 7,542.40.  By the start of the first lockdown in March, it had dropped to 4,993.90, a fall of nearly 34%.  At the time of writing, the FTSE has risen to 6,572.18, up nearly 32% but still almost 13% below where it was at the…

December 22, 2020 Read more >

Even in the modern age of political “opinion mining” and “soft leaking”, there has not yet been any overt steer from the Government as to what specifically it would like to do with the CGT regime (other than, presumably, for it to raise more revenue). However, in the document setting out the situation, it has…

July 30, 2020 Read more >

All of us have had to make major adjustments to our lives over the past three months. Boards of directors and their remuneration committees are no exception. Many companies have been required to make transformational changes to their operations and their remuneration policies, and may yet have to make more. Here are five key agenda…

June 29, 2020 Read more >

Revised Stewardship Code sharpens the focus on ESG factors The UK Stewardship Code forms part of the FRC’s mission to promote transparency and integrity in business. The 2020 version of the Code was published by the FRC earlier this month. Under the Code, it is incumbent on asset owners and asset managers to disclose how…

January 30, 2020 Read more >

Largest AIM companies stick with UK Corporate Governance Code AIM companies are required to adopt a recognised corporate governance code – which one do they choose? One of the main attractions of listing on the AIM market is the reduced regulatory requirements compared to a main market listing, but do the biggest AIM companies take…

November 26, 2018 Read more >

When is an employees’ share scheme not an employees’ share scheme? The answer is: when it’s an Inclusive Ownership Fund (IOF). Few would disagree that an engaged workforce delivers greater productivity or that offering shares to employees creates direct engagement with the financial and economic performance of the business. But proposals announced at the Labour…

September 27, 2018 Read more >

The link between Executive Pay and Performance Damien Knight takes a critical view of the recent report for IDS for the High Pay Centre.

January 4, 2015 Read more >

HMRC’s Consultation Document responding to the Office of Tax Simplification’s report on tax-advantaged share plans is a major disappointment. The only definite commitments are to abolish the approval process and to review the relevance of the CSOP.  The Government has rejected the OTS’s proposal to reduce the period before SIP shares can be removed tax-free…

June 27, 2012 Read more >