An all-employee scheme
The company chooses which modules it wishes to introduce as follows:-
The Free Shares Module of the Tax-Approved Share Incentive Plan
The company supplies funds to a trust for the purchase of shares that are then allocated free to individual employee accounts. The beneficial ownership of the shares is vested in the individual employees. After 5 years the shares are transferred out of the trust to the individual employees, income tax-free.
The Partnership Shares Module of the Tax-Approved Share Incentive Plan
The employee supplies funds to a trust for the purchase of shares through a pre-tax salary deduction administered through the payroll. The employee enjoys beneficial ownership of the shares whilst they are held by the trust for a period of 5 years at the end of which they are transferred by the trust to the employee, income tax-free.
The Matching Shares Module of the Tax-Approved Share Incentive Plan
The company supplies funds to a trust for the purchase of shares that are matched on an agreed ratio that cannot exceed 2:1 to the shares that have been purchased by the employees under the partnership module.