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Introduction
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This
document makes clear to students:
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What
they have to do to be awarded the diploma
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Course
rationale, structure and content
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Course
regulations
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What
services students can expect in return for their fees
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Programme
delivery
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Student
support
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Quality
enhancement
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The
document is part of our pledge to employers who may wish to
sponsor their employees on the programme.
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It
is also a formal document for any discussions with external
bodies that may wish to recognise or support the diploma and its
individual modules.
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Rationale
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Almost
five million UK employees currently participate in a share
(and/or share option) plan at their place of work. Planning,
introducing and managing employee share ownership schemes
demands a high degree of professionalism by both front office
and back office staff. This is a growing business, which is very
much in the national interest, in the words of UK Chancellor of
the Exchequer, Gordon Brown. He sees employee share ownership as
a key element in the battle to improve UK plc’s lagging
productivity record.
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Businesses
introduce employee share schemes for many different reasons –
including providing incentives and rewards, encouraging
retention and increased productivity and building corporate
identity, whether in a single firm or in a complex international
organisation. Esop professionals need to understand not only
employer motivation, but also that of the employee.
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The
practical issues involved in working in the Esop industry
require a good understanding of the legal and regulatory aspects
of schemes, trusteeship, financial implications of share
ownership, the impact of the tax regime and above all, scheme
administration and member communication.
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Leading
firms in the industry have recognised the need for specific
training for practitioners in the early stages of their career,
whether working in the company, perhaps in payroll or HR, or in
a specialist firm providing a wide range of Esop support
services. They have therefore created four e-based
distance-learning modules, which can be taken singly or as a
group to gain a Diploma in Employee Share Ownership Studies.
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The
course is offered in electronic distance learning mode in
recognition that this medium is most suitable for those who wish
to combine study with work.
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Whatever
new employees’ degree specialisms or A-level subjects, they
need both a sound grounding in the mechanics of schemes and a
rounded view of the wider social and economic issues. This
course provides the necessary context for their specialist
knowledge and specific work experience. It should make staff
aware when they need to call in a senior practitioner or a
specialist for specific help on more complex or sensitive
operational and structural Esop plan issues.
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The
Diploma in Employee Share Ownership Studies is being launched by
the Esop Institute with its advisory committee, under the
auspices of the European Centre for Employee Ownership.
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The
European Centre arranges an annual forum and carries out
research projects with the support of the European Commission.
It is a sister organisation of the Esop Centre founded by
Malcolm Hurlston in 1988 to bring the Esop (employee share
ownership plan) to Europe.
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Hurlstons,
which administers the Centres, provides administrative backing
to the Diploma, acting as registrar.
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Academically
the Diploma will be controlled by its own academic advisory
committee, chaired by Terry Burke, course director.
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The
advisory committee consists of Michael Kemsley of Cyril Sweett
Ltd, Sarah Pickering of Ernst & Young, Malcolm Hurlston of
Hurlstons and The Employee Share Ownership Centre and David Pett
of Pinsent Masons. The committee is responsible for the academic
content and the examination standards.
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The
diploma has been designed to be gained by distance learning
alone. (Malcolm Hurlston, visiting professor at the University
of Westminster, is a former director of the Association of
British Correspondence Colleges).
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Under
the guidance of the academic advisory committee, the programme
has been designed to meet the needs of share scheme
practitioners dealing with the UK companies and the HR and
payroll departments of participating quoted companies. It is
expected that firms will use the modules as part of their staff
training programmes.
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The
diploma approximates to University Level 5 (second year degree
level, intermediate stage of professional qualifications) and
consists of four 15 UK credit modules, each requiring a notional
input of 150 hours to cover all aspects of teaching, learning
and assessment.
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Programme
aims
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To
provide staff working in day-to-day administration of employee
share schemes with the skills and knowledge required for the
effective performance of their duties.
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To
ensure that holders of the diploma are fully aware of and
engaged in working to professional standards.
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To
provide both a qualification for staff wishing to make a career
in Esop administration and certificated specialist knowledge for
those already qualified in related fields.
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Target
students
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The
course will be taken mainly by staff working in schemes, whether
in-house or in a specialist service company, either by graduates
or equivalent recruits, or by established employees transferring
into Esop work or looking for career development.
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Learning
outcomes
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Holders
of the full diploma should be able to:
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1
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As
an executive, handle the day-to-day administration of schemes,
answering routine questions from employee stakeholders
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Explain
to employees any legal constraints under which their schemes
operate, correctly referring inquirers for further
professional, financial or other advice.
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Assist
in the establishment of a scheme, in terms of its legal
structure, its financial viability and value to employees and
the scheme’s likely contribution to the attainment of the
business’ objectives.
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To
start to take on a more managerial role in the administration
and development of schemes.
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Teaching,
learning and assessment
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Enrolled
students are supplied with a syllabus and a study guide for
each module. Learning materials are downloaded from a secure
web site on a weekly basis. Each topic or learning unit will
be complete in itself, with a self-test and an essay topic
(outline model answer released the following week). There is
also access to a bulletin board with Frequently Asked
Questions and a facility for students to communicate on-line.
Feedback will be via comments on the module’s assessed piece
of work.
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Individual
client companies will be encouraged to provide in-house, or
other, support to their students. Students will be encouraged
to form mutually supportive learning or study groups. An
opportunity for student interaction is offered by the
Institute website, which has a discussion forum where students
can meet to facilitate learning. Although this is a
distance-learning programme delivered via the internet, the
Institute may offer students the chance to attend a summer
school.
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Assessment
will be by a mixture of coursework, 30 per cent (typically a
short essay or report, submitted by timed email, to a
deadline) and examination, 70 per cent.
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Diploma
structure
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The
diploma consists of four equal modules, each consisting of
approximately ten topics, plus an introduction and a summary,
each topic requiring approximately a week’s work. In
addition time will be required for assessment, including
examination revision. The normal study pattern will be to take
two modules in semester 1 and two in semester 2, with an
examination at the end of each semester. However some students
may prefer to space their studies over a longer time period,
or to simply take one module of special interest to them.
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The
modules can be taken in almost any order, but students are
advised to take the introductory module first. There are two
entry points a year, in autumn and spring. There are
examinations at the end of each semester.
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The
modules
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1
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Introduction
to employee share schemes
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Costs
and benefits to staff and employers of introducing employee
share schemes, historical and comparative background, basic
information on nature of schemes.
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2
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How
do employee share schemes work in practice?
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Trust
deeds and plan rules; process from drafting scheme to
implementation and system development; communication and
launch activities; reporting; maturity and retention issues.
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UK
legal (non-tax) considerations
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Legal
framework, corporate governance of schemes, duties of care,
data protection, potential pitfalls, EU directives, takeover
and merger situations.
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Taxation
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Tax
benefits to scheme members, corporation tax implications,
onshore and offshore trusts, approved and unapproved schemes.
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Admissions
requirements
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Students
will normally be expected to have GCSE or equivalent
qualification in Mathematics and English, with education
normally to degree level, or good A level standard. However
these requirements can be waived in the light of the
applicant’s working experience. It is anticipated that many
students will be recent graduates, with one or two years’
experience in employee share schemes.
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It
is also expected that candidates will be working in the share
schemes industry. If people will wish to apply from outside
the Esop community, such applications will be considered on
their merits.
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Admission
to the diploma will be at the discretion of the Registrar,
taking account of the above criteria.
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Employment
prospects
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Firms
will use the diploma as part of their own staff training and
the qualification will confirm status, provide evidence of
management potential or allow a more generally qualified staff
member to specialise in Esop administration, management or
development.
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Student
support
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Each
student will receive detailed syllabus and a study guide, which
will provide references to useful texts and learning materials.
Information will be via the Institute website using suitable
software. Registration and payment of fees will also be received
electronically.
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The
Registrar will provide a help line and email contact to provide
advice to students on procedural matters and access to a
Frequently Asked Questions board. The Esop Centre will encourage
employers to take a positive attitude to the diploma course and,
if the student so requests, to provide support to any student
whom they employ. The Institute will relay selected student
queries to practitioner members for guidance, where necessary.
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Students
will be invited to complete an electronic questionnaire on both
the module and the programme. The findings will be presented to
an Advisory Committee, who will be able to recommend changes and
require reports on actions taken and resultant outcomes from the
Registrar.
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The
Institute may in time, with the help of members, develop other
services for candidates and for successful graduates, such as
access to further CPD, or career guidance, or seminars and
conferences.
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Quality
processes
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The
quality of the diploma, in terms of both monitoring standards
(including industry relevance) and the student experience, is
the responsibility of the academic advisory committee of the
Esop Institute. Credibility of the qualification depends
critically on its acceptance by major players in the sector, on
the integrity of the assessment regime and its academic standing
with external bodies.
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To
ensure this, the Institute has appointed a Chief Examiner to
support the committee. The academic advisory committee will be
empowered to co-opt additional members to the committee to
provide specific expertise and a further measure of external
scrutiny.
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The
Registrar is an employee of Hurlstons, which administers the
Esop Centre. This is a fractional appointment.
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The
academic advisory committee, together with the Chief Examiner
and the Registrar, approves the overall diploma specification
and its constituent parts. It will also be responsible for
approving amendments to the scheme.
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The
academic advisory committee will receive a report each year from
the Registrar and can require the implementation of an Action
Plan by the Registrar, based on the evidence of the report, to
be made during the coming year.
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The
Annual report will cover recruitment and retention, student
progression and achievement, disciplinary issues, student
feedback, reports on any content and delivery modifications and
the Chief Examiner’s report on standards and assessment
processes.
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Company
support
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Company
support is likely to be strong and ideally the company
sponsoring the student will appoint a mentor to help the student
work their way through the learning materials.
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A
particular problem that affects many students, even good ones,
is motivation and self discipline – it is easy to put off
study to another day, especially if you have done a full day’s
work. This often results in relying on swotting things up on the
eve of the examination in order to get by. The trouble with this
is that you will learn little and retain even less – it is
much more profitable to be a good student. This is where a
company mentor can help – a brief weekly ‘tutorial’ to
check progress, clear up any confusions and misunderstandings
and a valuable moment for reflection and sharing experience.
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However
do not expect them to do the self-test questions or assignments
– these are to help you learn. This is your diploma – you do
the learning, you get the benefits.
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