Luton-based budget airline Easyjet has achieved wide share ownership among its 7,000 staff.
It runs two UK all-employee plans: a sharesave scheme, which has achieved the equivalent of 45 percent-50 percent participation among eligible employees, and a share incentive plan, which has about 1,600 members. Similar schemes are also in place for staff based outside the UK.
Easyjet staff have been attracted to the schemes by some of the terms on offer. For example, the share price is discounted by the full 20 percent available within the sharesave scheme, while matching shares are offered on a one-to-one basis within its Sip, through which the company has also gifted free shares to staff.
Ken Lawrie, head of reward, says it was keen to ensure the schemes were well communicated. "We view share ownership very positively and we have support from the top down. The objectives we set were encouraging participation in the first year of 20 percent or so, and we have achieved considerably above that."
