Қызметкерлердің компания үлесіне қатысуы

System giving employees stake in a company's ownership

Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Employee Share Purchase Plans are common, wherein deductions are made from an employee's salary to purchase shares over time. In Australia it is common to have all employee plans that provide employees with $1,000 worth of shares on a tax free basis. Such plans may be selective or all employee plans. Selective plans are typically only made available to senior executives. All employee plans offer participation to all employees (subject to certain qualifying conditions such as a minimum length of service). Most corporations use stock ownership plans as a form of an employee benefit. Plans in public companies generally limit the total number or the percentage of the company's stock that may be acquired by employees under a plan. Compared with worker cooperatives or co determination, employee share ownership may not confer any meaningful control or influence by employees in governing and managing the corporation. In the United States, private companies often use employee share ownership to maintain the political feasibility of the founding business plan and culture after the founders have left. Generally, the most senior employees own a majority stake and represent the leading voice in the company that employs them. They may be required to sell back the shares upon leaving the company. A number of countries have introduced tax advantaged share or share option plans to encourage employee share ownership.

Direct purchase plans simply allow employees to buy shares in the company with their own money. In several countries, there are special tax qualified plans that allow employees to buy stock either at a discount or with matching shares from the company. For instance, in the U. S., employee stock purchase plans enable employees to put aside after tax pay over some period of time (typically 6–12 months) then use the accumulated funds to buy shares at up to a 15% discount at either the price at the time of purchase or the time when they started putting aside the money, whichever is lower. In the U. K., Share Incentive Plans allow employee purchases that can be matched directly by the company.

Stock options give employees the right to buy a number of shares at a price fixed at grant for a defined number of years into the future. Options, and all the plans listed below, can be given to any employee under whatever rules the company creates, with limited exceptions in various countries.

Restricted stock and its close relative restricted stock units give employees the right to acquire or receive shares, by gift or purchase, once certain restrictions, such as working a certain number of years or meeting a performance target, are met.

Phantom stock pays a future cash bonus equal to the value of a certain number of shares.

Stock appreciation rights provide the right to the increase in the value of a designated number of shares, usually paid in cash but occasionally settled in shares (this is called a "stock–settled" SAR).

Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOPs) became widespread for a short period in the UK under the government of Margaret Thatcher, particularly following the Transport Act 1985, which deregulated and then privatised bus services. Councils seeking to protect workers ensured that employees accessed shares as privatisation took place, but employee owners soon lost their shares as they were bought up and bus companies were taken over. The disappearance of stock plans was dramatic.

In the United States, there is a widespread practice of employee stock ownership. It began with industrial companies and today is particularly common in the technology sector but also companies in other industries, such as Whole Foods Market and Starbucks. In his 2020 presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders proposed that 20% of stocks in corporations with over $100 million in annual revenue be owned by the corporation's workers.