HMRC published Employment Related Securities (ERS) Bulletin 59. In addition to confirming that PISCES will not be a recognised stock exchange (on which further information can be found in our previous blog post here), the bulletin provides updates and reminders on various points related to the administration of share incentives. The key points from the bulletin are as follows:
- Notice requirements for Share Incentive Plans (SIP): From 6 April 2025, employers must ensure that any notice given to an employee regarding the possible effect of deductions from salary, for a SIP, also includes references to statutory neonatal care pay. Employers should ensure that their invitation paperwork is all up to date.
- Changes to overseas workday relief (OWR): Currently, OWR may be available to UK resident non-UK domiciled employees on employment income paid and kept offshore and related to days spent working abroad as part of their UK employment. The removal of domicile from the UK tax system and replacement with a regime based on tax residence, effective from 6 April 2025, will result in changes to eligibility for OWR (see ERS Bulletin 58). The questions on the non-tax advantaged share scheme ‘Other’ return template will not change, but HMRC will publish new guidance on reporting requirements in the ERS Manual on 6 April 2025.
- ERS end of year returns and Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) option grant notifications: As a reminder, employers must complete ERS end of year returns and EMI option grant notifications for the 2024-2025 tax year by 6 July 2025. Employers should save a copy of these notifications before submitting them, as they cannot be accessed later through the online service. A 'nil return' must still be submitted where there is no activity to report for the 2024-2025 tax year.
- Government Gateway account administration: HMRC recommends that companies have more than one administrator for their Government Gateway accounts to ensure that ERS filing deadlines are met even if the primary administrator is unavailable.
Employers should review their processes to ensure compliance with the above updates and reminders.
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