As announced at Spring Budget 2023, the Treasury is consulting on the effectiveness of the save as you earn scheme and the share incentive plan, particularly in terms of how widely the schemes are being used and the extent to which both are fulfilling their policy objectives. The point of the consultation is to ascertain whether the schemes could be improved and simplified.
The Treasury is seeking views on the following (until 25 August 2023):
the effectiveness and suitability of the schemes by reference to their policy objectives;
current usage and whether there are barriers to participating in the schemes;
whether the scheme rules are simple and clear and provide suitable flexibility to meet the needs of individual businesses;
whether the schemes suitably incentivise share ownership for lower-income earners; and
what other performance incentives businesses offer their employees and how these compare with SAYE and SIP.
Separately, HMRC has published the outcome of research it commissioned from London Economics into the company share option plan, SAYE and SIP schemes. Key findings include:
awareness of all schemes was limited among the companies surveyed, even among those which had registered for one of the schemes;
the principal reason for companies opting into share schemes is to improve employee engagement, for example to foster a sense of ownership and to help attract and retain skilled employees; and
obstacles to take-up include not wanting employees to have a controlling interest in the company and failing to meet eligibility requirements, with some companies reporting the administrative burden of setting up and running a scheme as a barrier.
As announced at Spring Budget 2023, the Treasury is consulting on the effectiveness of the save as you earn scheme and the share incentive plan, particularly in terms of how widely the schemes are being used and the extent to which both are fulfilling their policy objectives. The point of the consultation is to ascertain whether the schemes could be improved and simplified.
The Treasury is seeking views on the following (until 25 August 2023):
the effectiveness and suitability of the schemes by reference to their policy objectives;
current usage and whether there are barriers to participating in the schemes;
whether the scheme rules are simple and clear and provide suitable flexibility to meet the needs of individual businesses;
whether the schemes suitably incentivise share ownership for lower-income earners; and
what other performance incentives businesses offer their employees and how these compare with SAYE and SIP.
Separately, HMRC has published the outcome of research it commissioned from London Economics into the company share option plan, SAYE and SIP schemes. Key findings include:
awareness of all schemes was limited among the companies surveyed, even among those which had registered for one of the schemes;
the principal reason for companies opting into share schemes is to improve employee engagement, for example to foster a sense of ownership and to help attract and retain skilled employees; and
obstacles to take-up include not wanting employees to have a controlling interest in the company and failing to meet eligibility requirements, with some companies reporting the administrative burden of setting up and running a scheme as a barrier.
