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Whatever the Chancellor announces in his forthcoming Budget, employee share plans will continue to play an important role as companies move forward from the Covid-19 pandemic. The tax-advantages that share-based awards can enjoy are a key feature, however, equally important is the impact that share-ownership can have on boosting employee morale, motivation and aligning their interests with other investors.

The scope and application of the AIFMD portfolio company provisions - including the "anti-asset stripping rules" – have changed significantly as a result of Brexit. This briefing highlights how these changes may affect your firm.

Brexit Transition Period comes to an end…

At 11 p.m. on 31 December 2020, the Transition Period (during which the UK was effectively treated as still part of the EU) came to an end. In our previous article, "Social Security and Brexit: Where are we now?", we highlighted the risks faced by UK employers with employees working in the EU if no agreement on social security coordination was reached by that point. 

Head of Incentives and Remuneration, Mahesh Varia, and Senior Associate, Claire Prentice, have contributed to the Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides. These guides set out a series of country-specific Q&As providing an overview of the employee incentives laws and regulations in each jurisdiction.

This briefing was updated on 8 February 2021.

Mahesh Varia has contributed the United Kingdom Chapter to the ninth edition of The Executive Remuneration Review.

If you are a UK employer, with employees working in the EU, EEA or Switzerland, the country in which social security contributions are paid on their salary and benefits is currently set by EU Social Security Coordination rules.

The new Off-Payroll Working Rules (the 'New Rules') will come into effect from 6 April 2021. Organisations engaging the services of workers through intermediaries both directly as well as through agencies, will have greater administrative and financial burdens under the New Rules.

The new Off-Payroll Working Rules (the 'New Rules') will come into effect from 6 April 2021. Organisations engaging the services of workers through intermediaries both directly as well as through agencies, will have greater administrative and financial burdens under the New Rules.

Most businesses today have a mobile workforce and either operate from offices in multiple jurisdictions or are looking to expand globally. 

In his International Mother Earth Day message, UN Secretary General, António Guterres, urged governments to turn the worldwide recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic into "a real opportunity to do things right for the future"^[1]. 

We appreciate that many companies have a lot to deal with in the current circumstances, but we wanted to remind you of your filing obligations if you operated an employee share incentive arrangement (whether tax-advantaged or not) in the 2019/20 tax year. 

On 17 March, the Government announced that the changes to the Off-Payroll rules (the 'New Rules'), due to come in on 6 April 2020, would be delayed by one year as part of a package of measures to ease pressure on businesses in light of the coronavirus outbreak. In these challenging times, the news was welcomed by clients and contractors concerned about the financial impact the changes would have on them.

Head of Incentives and Remuneration Mahesh Varia and Senior Associate Claire Prentice have contributed the UK chapter to the second edition of The Legal 500: Employee Incentives Country Comparative Guide.

On 23 June 2016, the British people voted to leave the EU and in March 2017, the UK government triggered the departure process by invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

Mahesh Varia has contributed the United Kingdom Chapter to the eighth edition of The Executive Remuneration Review.

As you know, the new UK Corporate Governance Code (the 'Code') took effect for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019. Many companies with a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange will now be in an accounting period to which the new Code applies and will need to ensure they can operate their executive incentive arrangements in compliance with the following provisions:

Giving employees shares in the company they work for is often seen as an effective motivational tool. Some owners go even further and hand their workers a controlling stake in the business by transferring it to a specially formed employee ownership trust ("EOT"). John Lewis is often cited as the classic example of an employee-owned company but there are many others including global operators, PA Consulting and Mott MacDonald.