In a call for evidence launched today (5 June 2023), the
government wants to hear views on Save As You Earn (SAYE) and the
Share Incentive Plan (SIP), as it seeks to improve the schemes
and expand their use by making it easier for businesses to set
them up and offer them out to staff.
This comes as a HMRC evaluation report, also released today,
shows that 81% of businesses say these schemes help boost their
business, with almost three quarters of these saying it has
helped them retain and recruit staff. 31% of businesses which are
unaware of these schemes say they are too complicated to set up.
, Financial Secretary to
the Treasury, said:
Employee share schemes are an effective way to boost motivation
in workforces by giving people an extra stake in what they do –
and they offer a boost for business.
Growing the economy is a priority for this government and one way
to make this happen is by making these schemes as easy as
possible to set up.
The two schemes up for review are:
- Save As You Earn (SAYE): this allows employees to buy
discounted shares in their company if they save money each month
for three to five years.
- Share Incentive Plan (SIP): this allows companies to help
their employees to purchase shares directly in their company or
offer them as awards, tax free.
These schemes are one of the tools the government has to drive
economic growth, and today’s call for evidence is designed to
gather feedback on participation in both schemes and find out how
they can be improved and simplified, including how to make sure
more people on lower incomes are able to take advantage of them.
HMRC evaluation published today shows 50% of companies which have
set up a share scheme have done so to create a feeling of
ownership among their staff, with other common reasons being to
help retain staff and skilled employees, attract skilled
employees and improve staff morale.
The call for evidence comes after venture capital firm Index
Ventures praised government reforms to a separate scheme, the
Company Share Option Plan, placing the UK as joint top among G7
countries in share option policy.
These reforms saw a doubling of the amount of share options
employees can be granted and removed restrictions on which kind
of shares could be included. Index said the moves the government
took were “helping scale ups attract and retain the talent they
need”.
The government is looking to replicate this success through
similar reforms for SAYE and SIP and is particularly interested
in understanding whether the schemes are attractive to lower
income earners.
Further information
