UK Government Announces Employee Ownership Push

On July 4, UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced new initiatives to promote employee ownership. His announcement followed on the extensive recommendations of a report the UK government commissioned titled Sharing the Success: The Nuttall Review of Employee Ownership. The report outlined dozens of recommendations, mostly focusing on developing a smoother regulatory process, increasing awareness, and providing a means for employees to request that their employers to set up ownership plans.

Clegg said that the government's first steps would be to create an Institute for Employee Ownership, a national organization that will provide guidance, resources, models, and other information on employee ownership. A second initiative would create a "right to request" by employee groups, allowing employees to formally request that their employer set up some kind of employee ownership plan. Finally, the government will create "off the shelf" model employee ownership plans.