Readers are advised that the new employee shareholder status which came into operation on 1 September 2013 is not currently available in Northern Ireland.

Chartered Accountants Ireland recently contacted the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) who confirmed the position and advised that having been consulted on the proposed introduction of the new status in November 2012, DEL’s view at that stage was that any potential tax benefits could be outweighed by the disadvantages of reduced employment rights for employees. Responsibility for employment law is entirely devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The current position is that DEL does not yet consider there to be sufficient evidence to justify the introduction of such a system in Northern Ireland. DEL awaits an assessment as to how the system is working in the rest of the UK and at present has no plans to consult on this issue.