Report on profit-sharing and labour co-partnership in the United Kingdom

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1016336950

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-27123

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report on profit-sharing and labour co-partnership in the United Kingdom

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: His Majesty's Stationery Office

Year of publication:: 1912

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (160 Seiten)

Digitisation:: 2018

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: II. Profit sharing and co-partnership in private firms and companies

Collection:: Economics Books

64 II.—PRIVATE FIRMS AND COMPANIES. time has not elapsed to enable them to acquire enough stock or shares to entitle them to more than a quite insignificant voting strength. The proportion of the total number of possible votes at a general meeting of the Company which could be given by its workpeople is estimated at more than 1 per cent, in six cases only (Leamington Priors Gas Company, 1'7 per cent; South Metropolitan Gas Company and Cardiff Gas Light and Coke Com pany, 2 per cent.; Chester United Gas Company, 2 8 per cent.; South Suburban Gas Company, 2'9 per cent.; Grantham Gas Company, 5 per cent.). In two cases only are the employees of these Companies repre sented on the Board of Directors, the South Metropolitan Gas Company (as mentioned above) having three employee-directors and the South Suburban Gas Company two. But in every case there exists in connection with the profit-sharing scheme a Joint Committee of employers and employed, with functions generally similar to those of the Co-partnership Committee of the South Metropolitan Gas Company described on p. 59. Shares issued to Employees below Market Value. In May, 1886, Messrs. Hazell, Watson & Viney, Limited, printers and bookbinders, of London and Aylesbury, a firm now employing about 1,400 persons, brought forward a scheme of Profit-sharing under which they proposed to allot by way of bonus to all persons who had been employed by them for more than three years one- half of any profits that might be made over 10 per cent. One-half of the bonus was to be paid in cash in pro portion to wages earned, the other half being added to a Provident Fund to which the employees pay weekly contribu tions, which have been supplemented by large donations from the Company. This Fund provides sums payable at death, and grants during exceptional illness or calamity, and a limited number (at present 20) of pensions of 10s. a week to members over 60 years of age. The interest of an employee in the Provident Fund cannot be assigned or taken by creditors. Provision is made for enabling an employee who leaves the firm to receive two-thirds of his subscriptions to this Fund without interest. The amounts which accrued to the employees under this profit-sharing scheme, taking the bonus paid in the years 1887-93 inclusive, were equiva lent to an average addition to the wages of participants of 0'8 per cent. In 1890 the firm made an arrangement by which employees were allowed to buy £10 shares in the Company at about three- quarters of their market value by weekly instalments of Is. each. The employee at once received the full dividend, and if he died before all the instalments were paid, his representatives took the share without further charge as fully paid-up. The profit-sharing scheme (apart from the arrangements for the purchase of shares by employees) was discontinued in 1895, on the ground, as stated by the Company, that the profits had not for some time allowed the payment of bonus. But the share- purchase arrangements have been continued, under terms varying from time to time but speaking generally of a similar character to those above described; and in all cases the shares have been

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