BT 1997 Annual Report Download - page 59

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
59
1997 1996
Year end Average Year end Average
25. People employed ’000 ’000 ’000 ’000
Number of employees in the group:
UK 123.3 125.8 127.8 132.6
Overseas 4.2 3.8 2.9 2.6
Total employees 127.5 129.6 130.7 135.2
26. Employee share schemes
The company has a share ownership scheme used for employee share allocations (profit sharing), savings-related share option
schemes for its employees and those of participating subsidiaries and further share option schemes for selected group
employees. It also has a performance share plan and a long-term remuneration plan.
Share option schemes
The major share option scheme, the BT Employee Sharesave Scheme, is savings related and the share options are normally
exercisable on completion of a three or five-year Save As You Earn contract; there is a similar savings-related scheme for group
employees overseas. Under the other share option schemes, share options are normally exercisable between the third and
tenth anniversaries of the date of grant.
Options outstanding under these share option schemes at 31 March, together with their exercise prices and dates, were as
follows:
Number of
ordinary shares
Normal
dates of Option price 1997 1996
exercise per share millions millions
Savings-related schemes:
1996 244p –58
1997 265p 46 50
1998 320p 47 50
1999 341p 29 30
1999 300p 9–
2000 306p 48 50
2001 267p 70 –
Number of
ordinary shares
Normal
dates of Option price 1997 1996
exercise per share millions millions
Other share option schemes:
1991–1998 243p –1
1992–1999 281p 11
1993–2000 289p 34
1994–2001 380p –1
1995–2002 333p 45
1996–2003 430p 23
1997–2004 375p 44
Total options outstanding 263 257
In the year ended 31 March 1997, options were granted under the option schemes in respect of 79 million shares (1996 – nil);
options for 64 million shares were exercised (1996 – 57 million) and options for 9 million shares lapsed (1996 – 15 million).
Long-term remuneration and performance share plans
A long-term remuneration plan (LTRP) and a performance share plan (PSP) were introduced for employees of the group in
1994 and 1995, respectively. Under the plans, company shares are acquired by an employee share ownership trust and are
conditionally awarded to participants, although participants will only be entitled to these shares in full at the end of a five-year
period under the LTRP and the end of a three-year period, which may be extended to four or five years, under the PSP if, at
the end of the applicable period, the company has met the relevant pre-determined corporate performance measure and the
participants are still employed by the group. Awards of shares were granted in 1994, 1995 and 1996 under the LTRP and in
1995 and 1996 under the PSP. The corporate performance measure assesses the company’s overall performance against those
top 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, as rated by the Financial Times (the FT-SE 100 index), at the
beginning of the relevant performance period.