TYPOLOGY OF EMPLOYEE SHARE OWNERSHIP

Employee share ownership starts with one share held by one employee and it can go to 100%.

It can be through shares or through membership (for instance in workers' cooperatives). It can be direct or indirect, through dedicated legal vehicles, as it is the case for any other investors.

Even when looking at largest companies, it is remarkable that all situations exist, from 0 to 100%.

The following graph gives the picture of all 2.500 largest European companies, by order of employee share ownership rate, from 0 to 100%. You don't see any fetish number appearing: 51%? 25%?... - No steps, it is a continuum.


Based on empirical and statistical observation, a typology of employee share ownership can be identified:
Up to 1% employee share ownership appears to be insignificant or embryonic, over 1% it is becoming significant, over 6% it is strategic, over 20% it is determining, and over 50% it is controlling.

Of course, here is a link with corporate governance issues. The higher the share held by employees in the ownership structure, the higher employee share ownership involvement in corporate governance. However, nothing's automatic here. In some cases you can have a say even with 1%, while in other cases you don't have any say even with 100%

It is remarkable that employee share ownership appears to be strategic, determining or controlling, not only in small and medium sized enterprises, but even in a high number of the largest European companies, as can be seen in the following table, based on the 2.500 largest European companies (employing 33 million people in 2011):


Detailed information can be found in the Annual Economic Survey of Employee Ownership in Europe


 

 


 

 

For information and contact
EFES - EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF EMPLOYEE SHARE OWNERSHIP
FEAS - FEDERATION EUROPEENNE DE L'ACTIONNARIAT SALARIE
Avenue Voltaire 135, B-1030 Brussels
Tel: +32 (0)2 242 64 30 - Fax: +32 (0)2 808 30 33
E-mail: efes@efesonline.org
Web site: www.efesonline.org
EFES' objective is to act as the umbrella organization of employee owners, companies and all persons, trade unions, experts, researchers, institutions looking to promote employee share ownership and participation in Europe.