Recruit, reward and retain
Article Date: May 12 2006
A guide to share schemes
There are four types of Government-approved share scheme you can offer your employees, which are:
Save As You Earn (SAYE)
An approved SAYE scheme is a savings-related scheme you can set up that must include all employees who've been with the company for a certain time. The scheme gives employees a right (known as a share option) to buy shares with their SAYE savings for a price that's fixed at the start.
Employees can save up to £250 a month into the scheme out of their take-home pay. At the end of the savings contract (three to five years, or sometimes seven) employees can use the savings to buy the shares.
The interest and any bonus at the end of the savings scheme is tax-free for employees (unless it is cashed in early) and they don't pay any income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) on the difference between what is paid for the shares when using an option and what they're actually worth. Income tax and NICs are due on this difference with non-approved schemes. Employees may have to pay capital gains tax (CGT) when they sell the shares, but not if the shares are put into an ISA as soon as they are exercised.
Company Share Option Plan (CSOP)
An approved CSOP scheme gives the employee a right (or option) to buy up to £30,000 worth of shares at a fixed price at a particular time. As an employer, you can choose to whom you offer the option, but employees won't be eligible if they already own more than 25 per cent of the shares of a company that's controlled by under five people (or by its directors).
Employees won't pay income tax and NICs on options or when they get their shares if the scheme's approved and you stick to the rules. Employees may have to pay CGT when they sell the shares.
Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI)
If your company has assets of up to £30 million, it can offer employees an option to buy shares worth up to £100,000 without them having to pay income tax or NICs. They may have to pay CGT when they sell the shares.
Share Incentive Plans (SIPs)
There are four different SIPS schemes:
• Free shares
• Partnership shares
• Matching shares
• Dividend shares
Employees can get shares under one or more SIPs and, if they keep them in the plan for five years, they won't pay income tax or NICs on their value when acquired. (Employers normally have to deduct this from the value of benefits given to employees.) They also won't pay any CGT if the shares are kept in the plan until they’re sold. If employees keep the shares after they are taken out of the plan they only pay CGT, if due, on any increase in value between when they were taken out and sold.
