Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 Schedule 4 paragraph 3

Group schemes

Schedule 4 paragraph 3 defines how a Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) scheme can be extended across a group of companies, and establishes the key terms used in relation to such group schemes.

• A company that controls one or more other companies (a "parent scheme company") may set up a CSOP scheme covering all or some of those companies
• A CSOP scheme extended in this way is referred to as a "group scheme" under the CSOP code
• A "constituent company" means either the parent scheme company itself or any other company to which the scheme is expressed to extend
• Separate rules in paragraph 34 address jointly owned companies and companies controlled by them