Retail giant Tesco is taking advantage of an HM Revenue and Customs initiative that allows staff to be automatically signed up to share plans as part of their terms and conditions.
New joiners have had this included in their terms and conditions since July 2008, but can opt out. Staff are eligible to take part in Tesco’s free shares scheme, Shares In Success, after completing a year’s service.
Invitations for this year’s plan will be sent out on 8 March, and 14,000 staff have been signed up under their terms and conditions.
Tesco has also had its scheme endorsed by the Muslim Council, amid concerns that share ownership is forbidden under Sharia law. The issue has been addressed in the ‘question and answer’ section of material sent out with the scheme invitation and Muslim staff can meet local personnel managers to discuss any concerns.
Teresa James, group share schemes manager at Tesco, said: “We always get good feedback from these schemes.”
Under the scheme, employees receive a percentage of their salary in shares, normally about 3.6%.
Read more articles on share schemes.