Thousands of Sainsbury’s workers are set for a significant financial windfall as the retailer’s latest Sharesave plan has matured.
The supermarket giant said its Sharesave 2022 plan matured on March 1, allowing more than 9,000 workers to buy Sainsbury’s shares at a discounted option price.
Sainsbury’s said the majority of staff participating in the plan are store and depot employees, who together hold around 15 million share options.
Based on Sainsbury’s current share price, the store said staff in the scheme could collectively realise a profit of about £25 million.
Sharesave allows staff to save directly from their pay, with the option to purchase shares at a discounted price when the scheme matures.
At that point, people can choose to keep their shares for longer-term saving, or sell them and realise any profit.
Sainsbury’s said that for many members of staff, the scheme is a simple and accessible way to build savings while feeling more connected to the company’s performance and success.
The scheme, which Sainsbury’s said is part of its commitment to support financial resilience and wellbeing, has helped staff to build savings pots to help fund life events such as a wedding or housing-related costs.
To help staff make informed decisions, the store said it worked with Wealth at Work to provide financial education sessions.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We’re proud that more than 9,000 colleagues are seeing the benefit of their commitment to saving and being investors in Sainsburys, and we want to encourage even more of our colleagues to take part in Sharesave and share in our success in the future.”
