Countdown to give staff shares

Countdown staff will be given a stake in the company.

The supermarket chain said it would give A$750 (NZ$808) of Woolworths Group shares to 14,400 Kiwi employees across 183 stores and distribution centres.

Australian-based Woolworths Group owns Countdown in New Zealand.

Countdown managing director Natalie Davis said the shares recognised the role staff played to keep the stores open during the lockdown. ‘‘This has been a big year for our teams, and we are very proud of the way they have served New Zealand,’’ Davis said.

‘‘Their care for their local communities and to each other over this very challenging time has been incredible, and we are immensely grateful.’’

Davis said the company wanted employees to have a stake in the future of the business.

Countdown employs 20,373 staff across its supermarkets, distribution centres, processing plants and support offices. Staff who weren’t eligible for the share award included employees who already received incentives as part of their employment with Countdown, those employed after March 1 and non-permanent staff.

Shares in Woolworths Group were trading at A$35.2 on the Australian Stock Exchange yesterday.

First Union secretary for retail, finance and commerce, Tali Williams, said staff were feeling generally positive about the company’s offer. ‘‘But . . . people just want to know what it’s about,’’ Williams said. ‘‘To be honest, most people are a bit confused by shares so it is going to be important for Countdown to be very clear about what it means . . . what their entitlements are and that sort of thing.’’

Shares don’t pay the rent, she said. ‘‘The living wage, for most people, would have been a clearer and more readily available acknowledgment of the role they have played in the last months.’’

From September, Countdown employees with 12 months service or more will earn a minimum of the living wage of $21.15 an hour.

Rodney Craig, partner at law firm MinterEllisonRuddWatts, said there were several reasons companies offered shares to staff. ‘‘There are all sorts of good reasons to give staff shares in the company. The primary one is aligning the company with the staff. Giving them a stake in the company,’’ he said.

‘‘It is also a way to attract and retain staff, an incentive.’’

Employee share schemes required upfront less cash than if staff were paid bonuses, he said.

Changes in the Financial Market Conduct Act in 2013 encouraged employee share schemes and made the process easier and the schemes were increasing in popularity, he said.