HBOS has paid out approximately £12m to almost 14,000 employees after its sharesave (save-as-you-earn) plans matured this week.
Staff could gain up to £4,000 if they invested the maximum amount of £250 per month, however, average payouts were around £1,000 per participating employee.
Through sharesave plans employees can invest between £5 and £250 a month over a three or five-year period. At the end of this period, employees can withdraw the money they have invested, together with a tax-free bonus, or they can use the money to buy shares in their employer. The price at which shares are purchased is set at the start of the savings term and is typically 20% below the market price at that time.
Fiona Downes, head of employee share ownership at Ifs ProShare, the not-for-profit organisation that promotes employee share ownership, said: "Employees contribute towards their employer's success and [sharesave] schemes are a good way of enabling staff to share in the rewards of such success. I am sure HBOS employees will warmly welcome these gains."