The legislation required to introduce employee-shareholders has finally become law. This means the Government can proceed with its plans to introduce employee-shareholder contracts from 1 September 2013.

The provisions to introduce employee-shareholder status were contained in the Growth and Infrastructure Bill. The House of Lords had twice voted to reject these provisions, therefore the Government had to make a number of concessions in order to get the Bill passed.

The concessions include the following:

• Employers must provide a written statement giving details of the employee-shareholder status. The statement should also specify which employment rights are being given up.
• Employers must provide a written statement containing full details of the shares and the rights they carry.
• The individual must receive independent legal advice, paid for by the employer, prior to entering into the employee-shareholder contract.
• There will be a seven-day “cooling off” period during which the acceptance of an offer of employee-shareholder status will not be binding.
• Benefits will not be affected if a jobseeker chooses not to become an employee-shareholder.
• Existing workers will be protected from a detriment if they refuse to switch to an employee-shareholder contract.

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