This Committee is considering legislation which includes a clause (clause 23) creating a new 'employee owner' status, which involves employees receiving shares between £2,000 and £50,000 which will be exempt from capital gains tax. Employee owners will then have lesser employment rights than others.
Ifs and EOA have said ministers appear to be seeking to justify the waiving of employment rights by suggesting the benefits that flow from traditional forms of employee share ownership will inevitably follow.
They have stated that there is no evidence to justify this assertion and insist there is no need for employment rights to be sacrificed in order to achieve the stated goal.
The two bodies stated that there was potential for considerable confusion among businesses (especially SMEs) as well as employees. In addition, they said there was a likelihood that both the employee ownership and employee share plans sectors would be undermined by the widespread negativity that already surrounds these proposals.
This Wednesday, Vodafone and Asda were among the big winners at the 20th annual ifs ProShare Award ceremony.
Nearly 500 representatives of the employee share ownership industry were at the Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden to celebrate excellence in the industry.
Among the judges for the awards was HR magazine editor, Sian Harrington.
Vodafone won most effective communication (1,001 to 15,000 employees) and most effective use of technology.
Asda walked away with most effective communication (15,001 + employees) and best overall performance in fostering employee share ownership (15,001+ employees).
For a full list of winners go to www.ifsproshare.com
