The centrepiece of George Osborne’s speech to last year’s Conservative conference was his plan for employees to give up their rights in return for acquiring shares in their companies. While losing rights and protections, including unfair dismissal, statutory redundancy pay and the right to request flexible working, they would gain shares worth between £2,000 and £50,000.
The Chancellor said:
This idea is particularly suited to new businesses starting up; and small and medium sized firms. It’s a voluntary three way deal. You the company: give your employees shares in the business. You the employee: replace your old rights of unfair dismissal and redundancy with new rights of ownership. And what will the Government do? We’ll charge no capital gains tax at all on the profit you make on your shares. Zero percent capital gains tax for these new employee-owners. Let shares and become owners of the company you work for. Owners, workers, and the taxman, all in it together. Workers of the world unite.
The policy was attacked from all sides in parliament, with former Tory Scottish secretary Lord Forsyth describing it as “ill-thought through, confused and muddled”, Lord O’Donnell, the former head of the civil service, declaring, “In the old days the price of slavery was 20 or 30 pieces of silver – is it now £2,000?” and crossbencher Lord Billamora memorably warning, “This is not just a dogs’s breakfast, this is a mad dog’s breakfast”. Andrew Adonis noted that “The idea that depriving employees of these basic rights is somehow going to boost growth is not supported by a single employer I have met, let alone [an] employee”.
It turns out that the government is having trouble finding any too. With just two months to go until the scheme launches, today’s FT reports that only six companies have enquired about it. The Treasury had expected thousands of employers to sign up, pencilling in lost capital gains tax receipts of £135m in the three years to 2017/18.
Responding for Labour, Chuka Umunna said: “It was a ridiculous policy that had the support of very few people indeed. It was condemned by business and by people on all sides and it should be dumped. I am not at all surprised that it has attracted little interest from businesses who on the whole do not want to rob their employees of their fundamental rights at work.”
The government rather optimistically remarked that its “approximate estimate” is that “around 6,000 companies” could choose to use the scheme, adding that “it could be more, it could be less.”
In the absence of a 1,000 per cent surge in interest in the next two months, it looks like it will be less.
Content from our partners
Related
