What is the EMI independence test? In order to qualify for the tax advantaged Enterprise Management Incentive scheme (EMI), a company must be “independent”. Broadly speaking, this means the company must not be under the control of another company. If the company does not meet or...
Employers who have awarded shares or options to their employees have an annual obligation to report any notifiable events that occurred in relation to Employment Related Securities (ERS), often known as a share scheme return. The absolute deadline for making the share scheme return via...
If you’re just starting to think about rewarding employees in your company with shares, it can be difficult to decide what’s the best plan for you. There are a variety of plans to choose from. Some plans are tax efficient, and you can tailor many...
If you’re new to share plans, you’re probably going to be coming up against some pretty horrible jargon. Here’s a quick and dirty guide to some of the terms you’ll come across at the outset of your employee share plan journey – what they mean and...
By the time this blog lands, it seems likely that the UK will have a new government. It's natural to wonder if this will mean a big change for employee share plans and employee share ownership generally. However, whether we’ve woken up on Friday 5th...
HMRC have taken their time before publishing tax-advantaged employee share scheme (ESS) statistics for the tax year 2022 (at the end of May 2024). This may be because they had discovered data processing errors in the years from 2015 to 2021. In fact, HMRC have...
For some business owners, selling all their shares to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) is the complete solution to their succession worries. Key benefits of selling to an EOT Sellers pay no capital gains tax if they sell a majority shareholding to an EOT. This means that...
Many businesses understand the importance of incentivising their staff, and will often invest significant time (and money) in designing and setting up an employee share plan such as Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI). An EMI plan can play a central part in attracting, motivating and retaining staff. ...
Many private company business owners like the idea of incentivising employees via a share scheme. Advantages include attracting and keeping key talent in a competitive market. Using equity can also be an attractive alternative when cash is tight, and salary requirements are high. Founders who’ve built...
The Company Share Option Plan or CSOP offers generous tax reliefs, but then so can an Enterprise Management Incentive Scheme if your company qualifies, so which is better? We take a look at the key features of both to help you decide which might be...
Does my company really need an EMI valuation agreement from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) before granting EMI options? That’s a reasonable question, especially for companies working with limited budgets. It is true that it is not a legal requirement for an EMI valuation of the...
If you’re running an employee share plan, especially if you’re setting up a scheme for the first time, there are some trip hazards that you may not be aware of. These may vary depending on the share plan you’re using. Check these points out to...
As summer holidays come to an end, business owners often start thinking about getting an employee share plan in place for a New Year launch. With that in mind, it feels like a good time to go back to basics and think about the first...
Government has published draft legislation to extend the time limit for notification of the grant of EMI options. Currently, companies must notify HM Revenue & Customs of an EMI option grant within 92 days of the date of grant. This limit will be extended for...
Contrary to popular belief, us share plan lawyers don’t really like making things complicated just for the sake of it. So over the past couple of years, we’ve been delighted that the powers that be have taken the time to consider how tax-advantaged employee share schemes...
