Employee-owned global travel management organisation Travel and Transport has extended its employee stock ownership plan (Esop) to its 160 UK employees, in recognition of the business' 73rd birthday.
The Esop, which enables staff to acquire shares in the organisation, has been designed to mirror the profit-sharing plan that Travel and Transport offers its US employees. The model will also provide UK staff with additional retirement benefits, which are linked to organisational performance and an employee's tenure.
Each year, based on the performance of Travel and Transport stock, the organisation will make an extra pension contribution for UK staff enrolled in the Esop, based on a sliding scale of up to 3.75% of employees’ salary, and related to staff members’ length of service. To receive the maximum contribution, employees must have at least six years' tenure; those with 10 or more years of service, however, are eligible for an additional 25% contribution.
The Esop is available for all Travel and Transport and Radius Travel employees working in the UK.
The benefit has been rolled out to UK staff in order to create a sense of ownership in the business and to improve engagement. Because the plan is tied to organisational performance, Travel and Transport also aims to instill a culture of care, consultation and respect for its customers, aiming to foster authentic and long-term relationships rather than centre around short-term quarterly goals.
Kevin O’Malley, chief executive officer at Travel and Transport, said: “All of our employees must have access to the benefits of our Esop, first and foremost because it’s the right thing to do. Beyond that, including all employees in our shared ownership model makes everyone an employee-owner, which improves engagement and personal investment in the [organisation’s] continued success.
“By empowering our employees, they have the opportunity to make decisions that positively impact our customers on a daily basis. We want to offer solutions that create value as well as strong, lasting partnerships.”
