NFC begins to cut the cake
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• The National Freight Consortium has finally unveiled its profit sharing scheme — which it says could result in middle managers each owning up to a £50,000 stake in the business in 10 years' time.
Drivers could also have stakes of up to £25,000 in the same time span, NFC directors are predicting.
In the final settling of the details, Mk: has announced that 12.5% of its pre-tax profits for the year to October, 1986,' will be allocated to the new profit-sharing scheme. The scheme begins in January.
Based on NEC's results for last year this would be equivalent to £3.6 million, or an average of £140 of free NEC shares per employee.
The 12.5% is to be allocated between the two parts of the scheme.
?art A is the savings related scheme where eligible employees can save up to 2.5% of their salary by purchasing NFC shares. At the end of each calendar year for every £100 the employee saves, the company adds another £33.
Part B is basic profit sharing. Although the exact allocation is being determined by consultation with shareholders, the amounts paid to each eligible employee — whether he or she saves or not — will be calculated according to earnings and length of service. Employees will be encouraged to receive the profit sharing payment through shares.
NFC chairman Sir Peter Thompson is aiming to bring the present 83% ownership of NFC shares by employees and employees families up to 100% Since employee ownership there has been a "demountable and consequent increase in employee motivation", NFC says and this is to be encouraged. But the new profit sharing scheme is also aimed at preventing ownership passing to outside investors in the run up to NFC's floatation on the Stock Exchange within the next three years.
NEC is also guarding against a rush to sell shares. It is only after two years that income tax relief begins to operate with the new scheme.