HBOS employees benefit from share ownership schemes

ifs Proshare, a not-for-profit organisation concerned with the issues of employee share ownership and financial education in the workplace, have praised HBOS for today confirming that 50,000 of their employees will share gains of approximately £210 million.

Fiona Downes, Head of Employee Share Ownership at ifs ProShare, said, “The HBOS Sharekicker scheme which matures today, together with free share options which mature next month, give HBOS employees a significant sum of money.

The fact HBOS have outperformed the FTSE 100 since 2004 adds further weight to existing research, that the underlying performance of an organisation with a share plan is superior to firms with no such arrangements.

Giving employees a stake in their employer is a great incentive to staff and we hope that more UK companies follow the example set by companies such as HBOS.”

David Fisher, HBOS Director of HR, said: "We believe it is very important that colleagues have a direct stake in the business and share in its success."

HBOS enabled their employees to have free share options worth up to 20% of their salary in 2004 when the share price was £7.12. The share price when these options can be exercised next month is likely to be in excess of £11.50 meaning a payout totaling around £120m.

The HBOS Sharekicker scheme which matures today will result in a further £90m being shared by employees who invested some or all of their annual bonus in HBOS Shares. Those who made such investments are entitled to 50% extra shares free.

The Employee Share Schemes have also been welcomed by trade Unions Accord and Amicus who made the following joint statement:

"With so many negative stories about industrial relations around at the moment it is right for unions to commend and support employers, like HBOS, who are doing the right thing by their workforce."