People sit at a table and work

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Employee shareholding schemes benefit both companies and employees alike. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy therefore commissioned a study designed to provide an overview of the schemes used in other countries and to look, in particular, at the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups.

Minister Altmaier said: “Employee shareholdings are an important instrument for companies to attract and retain skilled workers. Employees become shareholders and participate in the economic development of their company. Our goal is to increase employee shareholdings especially in small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups. Providing a good policy environment for this is very important in order to ensure that companies and start-ups are competitive.”

The now completed study provides an overview of the current level of employee shareholdings and active employee shareholding schemes in the 28 EU Member States. The recommendations for action it provides for policymakers primarily deal with approaches to tax-related issues. In addition, the study also addresses legal issues and makes the recommendation for more consistent information to be provided to help establish the practice of employee shareholding schemes more firmly at companies, and to raise awareness of the benefits among employees. The study is also based on a policy initiative set out in the Coalition Agreement.

The study on the proliferation of employee shareholdings in Germany / Europe and prospects for its development [German title: Verbreitung der Mitarbeiterkapitalbeteiligung in Deutschland / Europa und Entwicklungsperspektiven] was conducted by a consortium made up of the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder, the Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg and Arbeitsgemeinschaft Partnerschaft in der Wirtschaft [business partnership study group].

You can find the study here (in German).