Eaga Partnership Trust (EPT) will pay out cash and shares worth £9,000 for Eaga’s staff.
The payout comes as the green services firm is being purchased by Carillion in a £306 million deal which was announced on 11 February.†
After the announcement, many Eaga employees, who are also partners in the business, were angered to learn they would not receive a substantial windfall. Following the reaction from partners last month, the trustees undertook a series of briefing sessions alongside Eaga staff.
Ken Temple, chairman of the Eaga Partnership Trust, said in a statement: “We have learned through this process that though we have so far funded the share incentive plan (Sip) to the value of £9.5 million, partners do not yet see its full worth. So we have decided that it is appropriate to redress that point.
“There have been three Sip awards since flotation of, in round terms, £1,000 to each partner per year, a total of £3,000. The maximum award allowable by HMRC rules is £3,000 each year.
“We now propose to pay a cash sum equivalent to the difference. This amounts to up to £6,000 per partner. The actual amount each partner will receive will depend upon length of service since the flotation in June 2007.
“This will be paid to all current partners and to past partners who have left since June 2007 for reasons of retirement, ill health, redundancy or transfer. Partners who resigned or were dismissed are not included.
“Subject to the successful completion of the acquisition of Eaga by Carillion we expect to make this award toward the end of April. We will communicate the detail of how payments will be made in the coming days and weeks.
“As part of our determination to improve the level of benefits from the EPT we are now undertaking that each partner’s Sip award this year will be at the HMRC maximum of £3,000 but we can make no promise to do the same in future years.†
“Current partners who leave through redundancy or through transfer before the Sip shares are issued will receive this value in cash, pro-rated to the number of months of service in the current Sip year.
“The headline benefit to a current partner who has served continuously since June 2007 is £9,000 (£6,000 paid in cash, plus £3,000 into this year’s Sip). A partner with only one year’s service will receive £1,500 cash plus the appropriate Sip award. All cash payments will be subject to tax and national insurance.
“Also, looking to the future we are considering how best to use our assets to reinforce partnership and underpin employee engagement and ownership in the future.”
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