Around 17,000 staff at supermarket giant Asda are set to share a £37.5 million windfall as a result of the company’s sharesave plan maturing.
The scheme enables staff to save between £5 and £250 every month for a set period of time, at the end of which they receive a tax-free bonus and the option to buy shares in Asda’s parent company Wal-Mart at a 20 per cent discount.
People who saved the maximum £250 a month for the past five years will receive a payout of around £12,700, based on Wal-Mart’s current share price - £3,700 more than their original investment.
Staff who have opted to cash in their shares are spending the money on everything from breast reduction surgery and laser eye treatment to a shark diving trip in South Africa.
One worker is using the cash to buy a piece of land so that he can become self-sufficient, while another is travelling to Pearl Harbour in Hawaii with his wife to celebrate their pearl wedding anniversary, and a third is going to Costa Rica to help build homes for under privileged families.
Supermarket group Tesco also said yesterday that nearly 193,000 staff will be awarded around £92 million in free shares as part of the group’s Shares in Success scheme.
All staff who have worked for the company for at least one year can join the scheme, under which they receive free shares every year. The shares are then held in a trust and are available tax-free after five years.
This year’s allocation is the biggest to date, with staff receiving free shares worth 3.6 per cent of their earnings, or £36 worth for every £1,000 they earn.
Since the scheme was first launched in 2003, Tesco has given staff shares worth more than £440 million.
