Share ownership and profit sharing on the increase across the EU
A growing number of businesses across Europe are offering employees a share of profits or stock ownership, according to provisional findings from a new comparative EU study published in People Management magazine.
The research suggests that the UK is the clear leader in using broad-based employee share ownership — defined here as schemes open to 80% or more of the workforce — followed by France, Netherlands and Ireland. But the number of schemes has increased in most member states.
When it comes to profit-sharing, by far the highest use is found in France, with Netherlands in its wake.
Other key findings of the study
The 2,500-company survey found:
Large organisations (with 5,000 or more employees) are more likely to operate broad-based profit-sharing schemes or share ownership than smaller firms (200 to 999 employees).
Financial participation arrangements are especially prevalent in financial and business service firms.
Organisations with such schemes have a higher number of employee participation structures than other firms.
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Title: Portfolio workforce , by Andrew Pendleton and Chris Brewster, People Management, 12 July 2001.
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Methodology: This PM article is based on a forthcoming study "Financial participation in Europe: An investigation of profit-sharing and employee share ownership", by Andrew Pendleton, Erik Poutsma, Jos Van Ommeren and Chris Brewster. The survey was undertaken on behalf of the Dublin-based European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. To find out more about the Foundation visit www.eurofound.ie.