Employee shares

 Should staff be given a way to buy shares?

Almost 10,000 SMEs are now offering staff share options under a government scheme offering tax breaks to employers who want to incentivise their employees. Research from Pinsent Masons shows the total number of companies now taking advantage of the Enterprise Management Incentive scheme totalled 9,820 by the end of the 2013-14 tax year, a 14% increase on the previous year. “Share ownership can act as a powerful incentive when it comes to competing with bigger businesses to recruit or retain talented employees, so as the economy recovers, SME employers are increasingly using the scheme as a way to encourage staff to build their careers with the company rather than look elsewhere,” said Matthew Findley, a partner at Pinsent Masons.

Source:   Evening Standard (10/10/2015)