SCS Upholstery launches sharesave scheme

ScS Upholstery has launched a sharesave scheme for its 1,400 employees in a bid to boost retention.

The scheme, which went live in March, gives all employees the option to save between £5 and £250 each month for a three-year period. At the end of this time, employees can purchase shares at the price set when the scheme launched with a 20% discount.

Dawn Gardener, HR manager at the sofa retailer, said the three-year savings period was suitable for the company’s workforce and she hoped it would aid rentention. "Any longer than that and it could just have been too long. Not many [retailers] retain staff beyond that anyway."

The company has also cut the maximum annual bonus its executive directors can achieve from 150% to 100% of basic salary and launched a long-term incentive plan (L-tip) to "provide a better balance between short- and long-term rewards", according to the chairman’s letter that accompanies its latest annual report. The letter also states: "[The company] believes that the revised incentive structure will promote a better alignment of the interests of management and long-term shareholders."

The L-tip, which launched in February, gives ScS’s remuneration committee the right to award executive directors free shares at its discretion. Once awarded, the shares are held for three years and only vest if company performance targets are met and the individual is still employed by the retailer.