Dear EOA Subscriber,

Tuesday's federal budget announcement included a proposal by the government to undertake some significant employee share ownership reform. Our response to these proposed reforms has been published on our website. 

Also in this newsletter...

• Register for the next EOA Experts Panel webinar.
   
• Watch a recording ​of last months EOA Experts Panel Webinar.
   
• Access Link Group’s Equity Plan Solutions (EPS) Insights report.
   
• Read an interview with Joanna Mak, Senior Manager of the MyShare Plan at Brambles.
   
• A reminder to reserve your ticket to the EOA & GEO 2021 Virtual Conference.

If you have an #EmployeeOwnership story to share we'd love to hear it! Simply reply to this email and we'll be in touch. 

Register for the next EOA Experts Panel webinar

EOA is pleased to invite you to our next Experts Panel webinar on Wednesday, 9 June 2021.

As we approach the end of the financial year, Employee Share Scheme reporting will be front of mind for many of you.  Join Marc Bosotti from PwC as we learn more about the process, key requirements and deadlines. 

Event Details

When: 9am (AEST) Wednesday, 9 June 2021 

Where: Zoom online webinar (registration required)

Registration link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/2116179476136/WN_OhCgat-9R-CvZ9ht7qutlQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the webinar.

Watch a recording of the first EOA Experts Panel webinar

A big thank you to everyone that attended the first of the EOA Expert Panel webinars, hosted and led by Marc Bosotti from PwC on Wednesday, 28 April at 9am AEST.

In this session Marc covered the main types of employee equity instruments used, including shares, rights and options and discussed the different types of arrangements in which these instruments are used and some of the key considerations for companies and participants.

A recording of the webinar has been uploaded to the EOA website on the webinars page and can be viewed by clicking the link below. 

Link Group launch Equity Plan Solutions (EPS) Insights report

EOA members Link Group recently launched an excellent report that looks at the impact of COVID-19 on the employee share plans that they manage on behalf of clients and how those companies have utilised employee share plans as a tool to retain, motivate, and reward their employees during these exceptional times.

In 2020, the COVID-19 crisis has acted as a catalyst for more than 135,000 employees to get involved in share schemes according to Link Group’s new Equity Plans Solutions report. 38% of companies offered a COVID-19 plan globally, seeing many employees become shareholders in their companies for the first time. The full report can be found on the Link Group website. 

Sharing In Success – An interview with Joanna Mak, Senior Manager of the MyShare Plan at Brambles.

Hi Joanna! Thank you so much for joining us to chat about your work at Brambles managing the MyShare Plan. Can you please tell us a little bit about the MyShare Plan at Brambles? 

MyShare is Brambles’ global Employee Share plan. It has been designed to give Employees the opportunity to build ownership in the company. Through participation in MyShare, employees can purchase shares in Brambles and have those shares matched by Brambles on a 1:1 basis if certain conditions are met. In 2021, we offered it to 11,000 employees and we achieved a participation rate of 47%. Almost half of the company’s employees are in the MyShare program – it is a very exciting time for us.

You mentioned that the current participation rate is 47%. How has this figure changed over the years?

MyShare started in 2009 with an average contribution rate of AUD 2000 per annum. The participation rate back then was 21%. Today, the average contribution rate is AUD 3200 and the participation rate is 47%, so we have came a long way over the past 13 years. This year we experienced a significant 5% increase in share plan participation compared to last year.

A 5% increase in share plan participation compared to last year is quite remarkable given the difficult operating environment over the last 12 months. What contributed to the rise in the participation level? Did you do anything differently compared to previous years?

EOA and GEO joint Australian Virtual Conference 2021 - Tickets now on sale!

EOA is excited to be collaborating with GEO (the Global Equity Organisation) to deliver an online conference in May 2021. 

The event will be held over a number of days, featuring both local and global perspectives and covering a broad range of employee ownership topics. 

The sessions will be split over the following days:

• Tuesday 25th May | 4pm - 6pm (Keynote and EOA Awards)
• Wednesday 26th May | 9.30am - 12pm
• Thursday 27th May | 12.30pm - 3pm 

For the full agenda please click here.

More details will be shared in upcoming newsletters, as well as on our Twitter and LinkedIn feeds over the coming weeks and months.