Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section Schedule 2 paragraph 17

Meaning of "qualifying company"

Section Schedule 2 paragraph 17 defines what counts as a "qualifying company" for the purposes of the Share Incentive Plan (SIP) qualifying period rules, distinguishing between standalone plans and group plans.

• For non-group plans, a qualifying company is either the plan company itself or an associated company that employed the individual at the relevant time
• For group plans, a qualifying company includes any company that is a constituent company at the end of the qualifying period
• For group plans, it also includes any company that was a constituent company at the time it employed the individual
• In both cases, the definition extends to companies that were associated with any other qualifying company at the time they employed the individual, creating a chain of qualifying connections