Yesterday, 1st September marked the introduction of a
new status of employee called an "employee shareholder" -
designed to give businesses greater choice about the type of
employment contracts they can offer individuals, while maintaining
appropriate levels of employee protection.
To become an "employee shareholder" for the purposes
of the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013, an agreement must be
entered into between the employee or prospective employee and the
company.
In exchange for giving up certain employment rights, the
individual must receive fully paid up shares from the company or
its parent undertaking, with a value of at least £2,000 and
no more than £50,000. If shares with a market value in excess
of £2,000 are issued to the employee, an income tax charge
will arise on the excess of the market value over £2,000. The
"employee shareholder" should benefit from significant
tax advantages (such as being exempt from capital gains tax on any
realised value
