| E-PAY Share options most popular form of long-term incentive for internet staff New research by pay analysts Industrial Relations Services confirms that share options are still the most common form of long-term incentive offered by internet companies. Two-thirds of the 35 employers surveyed offer share options to at least some of their staff. The survey shows the practice is more popular among pure standalone web companies, where almost three-quarters offer share options, compared with over half of the e-commerce divisions of traditional businesses. Unapproved plans most popular As part of the research, Industrial Relations Services has also scanned recent salary surveys and browsed the internet to uncover some of the detail about compensation and benefits among web-related occupations and e-commerce ventures in the UK. The evidence from these surveys shows that unapproved share option plans — in short, those which have no statutory limits on the maximum value of shares that can be placed under option, but do not receive favourable tax treatment — are most widespread. Pure dot-coms offer small selection of benefits A number of recent surveys by consultants have suggested that some e-commerce companies are introducing a much wider range of benefits to retain staff. But the IRS survey found no evidence to support the view that these standalone internet companies offer more benefits than their more established online counterparts. In fact, benefits aimed at maintaining work-life balance, employee health and family responsibilities are more likely to be offered to online employees working for more traditional businesses than by the pure web operations. Want to know more? This special issue of Pay and Benefits Bulletin (issue number 526, August 2001) includes two features examining reward practices in the e-commerce sector: Part 1: E-reward: a share of the losses? Methodology: IRS surveyed 35 internet companies (22 standalone businesses and 13 online divisions of traditional organisations). The four-page report covers base pay management, incentive systems and benefit strategies, highlighting how practice varies between the dot-coms and the traditional businesses. Part 2: E-pay review 2001. Methodology: This five-page review draws on salary information from the recruitment web site www.jobserve.com together with surveys published by:
Availability: Contact the subscriptions department at Industrial Relations Services in London, tel: 020 7354 5858, or for editorial enquiries email the editor jeremy.baugh@irseclipse.co.uk. For details of all IRS publications and conferences, jump to . . . www.irseclipse.co.uk. Posted 5 September 2001 |