MODEL PLANS

  Several model plans are well adequate for employee share ownership and financial participation. Model plans can facilitate things for companies, for employees and for social partners, making the conception and design of employee share ownership and financial participation plans easier. They can also be used by new countries, making things easier for policy makers and legislation. Finally, they can help all countries of the European Union to use coherent practices.

  The ESOP-model plan from the USA is one of the bests, as well as the Spanish "sociedades laborales" (employee-owned companies).
You can get an excellent model plan for ESOPs from the NCEO (National Center for Employee Ownership) - see on page http://www.nceo.org/pubs/model_esop.html

  About the Spanish sociedades laborales, you can get all information and documents in several languages on our dedicated website on www.sociedades-laborales.net   At the beginning, this Spanish model was designed for the rescue of failing enterprises and transfers of businesses; it was later extended to starting companies. Spain has now some 20.000 sociedades laborales with some 110.000 employees. See also: Anthony Jensen, University of Sydney - Spain pioneers Sustainable Democratic Corporate Governance Business Model with Sociedades Laborales

  Furthermore, a "High Level Experts Group" committed by the European Commission in 2003 gave some attention to the idea of a model plan for transnational financial participation plans in the European Union. Following this opinion, the IAFP (International Association for Financial Participation) organised a conference in Brussels on September 28-29, 2005. The conference was able to discuss a draft report on the "common elements of an adaptable model plan for financial participation in the European Union". Of course, this adaptable model plan is based on the set of eight principles that the European Commission defined some years ago (see on page "best practices".

  Finally, workers' co-operatives are also a good example, the statute being available in all countries of the European Union: see our page on co-operatives.