The employment requirementU.K.
15(1)The plan must provide that an individual is not eligible to participate in an award of shares unless the individual meets the requirement in sub-paragraph (2).U.K.
(2)The requirement is that the individual—
(a)is an employee of—
(i)the company, or
(ii)in the case of a group plan, a constituent company, and
(b)if the plan provides for a qualifying period, has at all times during that period been an employee of a qualifying company.
(3)In the SIP code “the employment requirement” means the requirement in sub-paragraph (2).
(4)This paragraph is supplemented—
(a)as regards qualifying periods, by paragraph 16, and
(b)as regards the meaning of “qualifying company”, by paragraph 17.