Overview table
The Situation of Employee Financial Participation in the EU-28
| Country |
Incidence of Profit Sharing (PS) |
Incidence of Employee Share Ownership (ESO) |
Specific State/Fiscal Incentives |
Trade Union Positions |
Comments / Specific Features |
| Austria |
EWCS (2012)1 : 8.9% ECS (2009)2 : 8% |
EWCS (2012): 1.9% ECS (2009): 2% |
Yes Promotion of ESO and SO |
Critical, but supportive in particular cases (especially profit sharing) |
Mainly used during privatisation of state industries |
| Belgium |
EWCS (2012): 9.7% ECS (2009): 15% |
EWCS (2012): 3.4% ECS (2009): 11% |
Yes Promotion of ESO, SO and PS Law on PS and ESO |
Critical, but supportive in particular cases (especially profit sharing) |
Priority objective of usage3 : Income policy |
| Bulgaria |
EWCS (2012): 8.3% ECS (2009): 9% |
EWCS (2012): 0.6% ECS (2009): 7% |
No |
Generally supportive |
Mainly used during privatisation of state industries |
| Cyprus |
EWCS (2012): 3.2% ECS (2009): 6% |
EWCS (2012): 0.9% ECS (2009): 4% |
No |
No important issue on the agenda, low priority |
|
| Czech Republic |
EWCS (2012): 17.8% ECS (2009): 17% |
EWCS (2012): 0.6% ECS (2009): 1% |
No |
No important issue on the agenda, low priority |
Mainly used during privatisation of state industries |
| Denmark |
EWCS (2012): 11.5% ECS (2009): 14% |
EWCS (2012): 4.5% ECS (2009): 13% |
Yes Promotion of ESO |
Critical, not supportive |
Priority objective of usage: Income policy |
| Estonia |
EWCS (2012): 11% ECS (2009): 18% |
EWCS (2012): 0.8% ECS (2009): 3% |
No |
No important issue on the agenda, low priority |
Mainly used during privatisation of state industries |
| Finland |
EWCS (2012): 23.6% ECS (2009): 23% |
EWCS (2012): 2.1% ECS (2009): 5% |
Yes Promotion of share-based PS by ‘Personnel funds’ in firms with more than 30 employees |
Generally supportive |
Priority objective of usage: Income policy Supported by social partners |
| France |
EWCS (2012): 22.9% ECS (2009): 35% |
EWCS (2012): 7% ECS (2009): 5% |
Yes Substantial promotion of PS, ESO and savings plans Deferred PS compulsory in firms with more than 50 employees Tax benefits for SO |
Critical, but actively involved on firm level |
Active role of the state Priority objective of usage: Income policy and supplementary pensions |
| Germany |
EWCS (2012): 12.2% ECS (2009): 14% |
EWCS (2012): 2% ECS (2009): 3% |
Yes Especially promotion of savings plans Promotion of ESO within the legislation of capital accumulation (savings plans) Tax benefits for SO |
Critical, but supportive in particular cases (especially profit sharing); currently interested in employee financial participation |
Priority objective of usage: Income policy and supplementary pensions Fiscal incentives mainly focus on savings plans |
| Greece |
EWCS (2012): 2.9% ECS (2009): 4% |
EWCS (2012): 0.2% ECS (2009): 2% |
Yes Promotion of ESO and PS Tax benefits for SO |
Generally supportive |
Priority objective of usage: Income policy |
| Hungary |
EWCS (2012): 7.7% ECS (2009): 13% |
EWCS (2012): 0.6% ECS (2009): 4% |
Yes Promotion of ESO |
Interested, but no activities |
Mainly used during privatisation of state industries |
| Ireland |
EWCS (2012): 5.7% ECS (2009): 11% |
EWCS (2012): 2.4% ECS (2009): 6% |
(Yes) Substantial promotion of ESO, PS and savings-related SO |
Generally supportive |
Especially supported by joint stock companies and SMEs Priority objective of usage: Wage flexibility and supplementary pensions |
| Italy |
EWCS (2012): 8.8% ECS (2009): 3% |
EWCS (2012): 2.3% ECS (2009): 4% |
Yes Promotion of ESO and PS, but to a small extent |
Mixed attitudes |
|
| Latvia |
EWCS (2012): 7.8% ECS (2009): 10% |
EWCS (2012): 0.9% ECS (2009): 4% |
Yes Promotion of ESO |
No important issue on the agenda, low priority |
Mainly used during privatisation of state industries |
| Lithuania |
EWCS (2012): 10.3% ECS (2009): 8% |
EWCS (2012): 0.3% ECS (2009): 3% |
Yes Promotion of ESO |
Interested, but no activities |
Mainly used during privatisation of state industries |
| Luxembourg |
EWCS (2012): 14.3% ECS (2009): 9% |
EWCS (2012): 4.6% ECS (2009): 4% |
No |
Critical, not supportive |
|
| Malta |
EWCS (2012): 3.5% ECS (2009): 4% |
EWCS (2012): 1.2% ECS (2009): 3% |
No |
Generally supportive |
|
| Netherlands |
**** EWCS (2012): 18% ECS (2009): 27% |
EWCS (2012): 2.6% ECS (2009): 5% |
Yes Promotion of ESO and savings plans Tax benefits for SO |
Critical, but increasingly supportive in particular cases (especially profit sharing) |
Priority objective of usage: Income policy and supplementary pensions |
| Poland |
EWCS (2012): 14.5% ECS (2009): 7% |
EWCS (2012): 1.6% ECS (2009): 4% |
Yes Promotion of ESO |
No important issue on the agenda, low priority |
Mainly used during privatisation of state industries |
| Portugal |
EWCS (2012): 3% ECS (2009): 16% |
EWCS (2012): 1.7% ECS (2009): - |
Yes Promotion of ESO and PS, but to a small extent |
No important issue on the agenda, low priority |
Priority objective of usage: Income policy |
| Romania |
EWCS (2012): 4.6% ECS (2009): 7% |
EWCS (2012): 1.9% ECS (2009): 11% |
Yes Promotion of ESO |
Supportive in particular cases |
Mainly used during privatisation of state industries |
| Slovakia |
EWCS (2012): 21.4% ECS (2009): 17% |
EWCS (2012): 3.2% ECS (2009): 2% |
No |
No important issue on the agenda, low priority |
Mainly used during privatisation of state industries |
| Slovenia |
EWCS (2012): 20.4% ECS (2009): 14% |
EWCS (2012): 4.2% ECS (2009): 7% |
Yes Especially promotion of ESO |
Generally supportive |
Mainly used during privatisation of state industries Supported by social partners |
| Spain |
EWCS (2012): 5.9% ECS (2009): 17% |
EWCS (2012): 2.2% ECS (2009): 5% |
Yes Promotion of ESO and SO Promotion of ‘workers’ companies’ (social economy) |
Critical, but supportive in particular cases |
Priority objective of usage: Income policy |
| Sweden |
EWCS (2012): 15% ECS (2009): 24% |
EWCS (2012): 2% ECS (2009): 11% |
Yes Promotion of share-based PS by ‘Profit Sharing Foundations’ |
Critical, but supportive in particular cases (especially profit sharing) |
Priority objective of usage: Income policy |
| United Kingdom |
EWCS (2012): 11.8% ECS (2009): 8% |
EWCS (2012): 4.4% ECS (2009): 6% |
Yes Substantial promotion of ESO, PS and savings-related SO |
Critical, but actively involved on firm level |
Especially supported by joint stock companies and SMEs Priority objective of usage: Wage flexibility and supplementary pensions |
Abbreviations
ESO: Employee Share Ownership
PS: Profit Sharing
SO: Stock Options
Wilke, Maack and Partner (2014) Country reports on Financial Participation in Europe. Prepared for www.worker-participation.eu. Reports first published in 2007 and fully updated in 2014.
