Put simply, it’s a three-year savings scheme, where you save a set amount directly from your after-tax pay every month. After three years, you'll have the chance to buy M&S shares at a 20% discount.
Sharesave is a risk-free savings scheme. You'll always get back the money you've saved and there is the potential to benefit at the end of the three years if the M&S share price has increased. Remember shares can go down in value as well as up.
Step 1 - We announce our half year results on 6 November.
Step 2 - We calculate the average share price using the M&S share price over three working days.
Step 3 - We take 20% off the average share price.
The minimum amount you can save every month is £5 and the maximum is £500. This includes monthly savings under any other Sharesave schemes you may have. Before you apply, you can use the Savings Calculator to find out how much you could save and how many shares you could buy based on the discounted share price.
No, the savings amount that you commit to cannot be changed.
Yes. As your savings are held with Lloyds Bank plc, they will be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS can pay compensation to depositors if a bank is unable to meet its financial obligations. In respect of deposits, an eligible depositor is entitled to claim up to £85,000. For further information about the Plan refer to the FSCS website fscs.org.uk or call the FSCS on telephone number 020 7741 4100 or 0800 678 1100. Alternatively, log onto lloydsbank.com for further information about the compensation scheme. A copy of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) fact sheet is available on the Share Plans website.
As long as you've three months' continuous service with M&S by 1 November 2024 and are still employed on the Date of Grant (2 December 2024 or 13 December 2024 if it is necessary to scale back) you're eligible to join.
Phone 0800 211 211
Call the number above and follow the instructions.
At the end of the call, make a note of the confirmation number until your scheme is shown on the Share schemes website.
Yes, you may participate in several different schemes all at the same time, as long as your savings do not exceed the maximum £500 a month. So, for example, you could be saving £250 last year and you'll now be able to save a further £250.
Yes. Simply log on to the Share schemes website before the joining window closes.
Once you've joined, you'll be able to view your Sharesave scheme online around the end of December 2024. This will confirm your monthly savings amount, the discounted share price and the maximum number of shares you'll be entitled to buy at the end of your scheme.
When Sharesave is popular and the level of applications received exceeds the number of shares that are available to be used, then it is necessary to scale back or reduce the amount that each colleague has applied to save each month, this is to ensure we do not breach externally set limits. We'll be in touch if this happens, please don't apply to save more than you can afford to save each month, as you won't be able to change the amount if you over commit.
Log on to the Share schemes website, either by selecting the apply now button on ‘what is sharesave’ page or www.yourmandsshares.com. If you haven’t used the website before you’ll need to register.
You can request to have all your savings returned through the Share schemes website or by calling Equiniti Limited at any time. If you request to have your savings returned before the scheme completes, your options will lapse and you won’t be able to exercise at a later date.
If repayment is made during the first year, your savings will be repaid without interest. If repayment is made on or after the first anniversary of the starting date and at least 12 monthly contributions have been paid, tax-free simple interest will be payable at (1.33%).
You can miss payments for up to 12 months during maternity, paternity or special leave. For each monthly saving that you miss your scheme end date will be delayed by a month. If you miss more than 12 months of payments, you'll lose the chance to buy shares at the discounted share price and your savings will be returned to you.
Alternatively, you can continue saving by Standing Order, simply call Equiniti Limited on +44 (0) 371 384 2941 or visit the Share schemes website where there is a help centre for further online support through the Webchat service.
If you leave at any time during your saving period due to redundancy, retirement or through ill health, you may be able to continue to save for a further six months and then buy shares using your total savings at that time.
If you leave for any other reason before the end of the three-year savings period, then you will get all your savings returned. You will not be able to buy shares at the discounted share price.
At the end of the three-year savings period you can use your savings to buy M&S shares at the discounted share price, which you may then choose either to sell, or keep. Or, you may decide not to buy M&S shares and have all your savings returned to you. You'll be sent all the information you need at the end of the Scheme.
A tax-free bonus payment of 1.1 times your monthly contribution will be paid to you as a cash payment.
No. Once you've started a Sharesave scheme, the returns are guaranteed. However, future invitations may be offered on different terms.
Going forward the bonus rates will be calculated with reference to the Bank of England Bank Rate (also known as the ‘base rate’), providing greater certainty and transparency. The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) set the Bank Rate. The new Bank Rate usually applies from the day following the MPC meeting when minutes are published. These meetings typically take place eight times a year and the dates are published in advance on the Bank of England's website.
No. you'll receive the tax-free bonus as a cash payment. Only your savings can be used to buy shares at the discounted share price.
If within the first six months of the scheme completing you decide you want to buy shares at the discounted share price, you can return your savings to Equiniti Limited, our Share schemes administrators, and purchase the shares instead.
You will not pay any tax when you join Sharesave. As the scheme is set up to benefit from specific tax favoured treatment, you won’t usually pay any income tax or national insurance contributions when you buy your shares after the end of the three-year savings period.
Call the Employee share schemes helpline on +44 (0) 371 384 2941 or visit WebChat which is available via the Help Centre on your Share schemes website. Lines are open 8.30am to 5.30pm (UK time), Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays in England and Wales). For RelayUK users with a textphone you can either download the RelayUK app or use the Relay UK website, www.relayuk.bt.com.
The savings prospectus attached to the 2024 Sharesave Scheme contract requires the first contribution to be made or the contract will terminate and you will lose the opportunity to save for 36 months and the right to buy M&S plc shares at the Option Price on your maturity date.
You'll need to provide information in relation to your National Client Identifier ('NCI'). For UK nationals, the NCI is your National Insurance number. For non-UK nationals and/or anyone who has multiple nationalities, you may be asked for a different NCI (eg your passport number). Equiniti have set up an NCI calculator which you can access by going to www.nationalitycalculator.co.uk where you can identify the relevant NCI.
For every contribution you have missed, your Maturity date or Sharesave Scheme end date will be extended by one month. You'll continue to have deductions taken from your pay until you have completed your total 36 payments. Your online sharesave maturity statement will show your new Scheme end date.
This may affect the choices available to you. Visit the help centre for online support if this applies to you.
As the EQi Flexible Stocks and Shares ISA (EQi ISA) and sell all choice is available for 6 months from 1 February 2024, if you have a new Scheme end date of 1 August 2024 onwards, any instruction for these choices won't be processed and your shares will be transferred to a Marks and Spencer Share Service (Share Service) account where further transfers can take place.
Remember, you have 90 days from buying the shares to transfer your shares in to an ISA or the shares will be sold and bought again which may give rise to a CGT liability.
The Share Service account enables you to hold shares electronically rather than keeping paper certificates. It is sponsored by Marks and Spencer PLC and provided by Equiniti Financial Services Limited (EFSL).
Details of the Share Service, including the list of charges, are set out in the Terms and Conditions which are available on www.shareview.co.uk/info/csn
Go to Share Service dealing fees for the most up to date rate cards.
Go to eqi.co.uk/info/contact for contact details and guidance on how to do this.
Your ISA service provider may ask you to provide evidence that you received shares from your Sharesave scheme and if this is the case you can download a ‘Letter of Appropriation’ from your Share Schemes website account.
You'll need to buy your shares and transfer to a Share Service account. Once in the Share Service account, you'll need to download and complete a 'Form A' and the Terms and Conditions, which are available at www.shareview.co.uk/info/csn
No transfer fee is applicable where the shares are being transferred to another beneficiary within the CSN.
If you need further support, either use the online web chat available on the help centre pages of the share schemes website or call +44 (0) 345 609 0810 to obtain the relevant transfer form to be sent out.
You can download a 'Form E', complete the 1st section and send to your ISA provider/broker to complete and forward on to Equiniti. The ISA provider/broker will then make contact with Equiniti to arrange the transfer.
Transfer fees will apply, you can find these on Form E and how to pay.
If you need further support, either use the online web chat available on the help centre pages of the share schemes website or call +44 (0) 345 609 0810 to arrange for the relevant transfer form to be sent out.
No, there is no tax-free bonus payment to be paid at maturity.
Providing you haven't missed any contributions; the final salary deduction will have been taken on 10 December 2024.
If your gains for the tax years 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 are more than £3,000, then you need to report them to HMRC. It is your responsibility to notify HMRC of any taxable situations which may arise relating to you, whether you receive a Tax Return or not. Failure to do so may result in penalties being imposed on you. Simply because you do not receive a Tax Return to complete, does not mean that a Tax Return does not need to be completed. If, when the shares are disposed of, a liability to CGT is unavoidable, any tax payable on the gain will be due by the 31 January following the end of the tax year in which the disposal was made. In other words, if you dispose of shares in the tax year ending 5 April 2025, any CGT due would be payable by 31 January 2026.
You do this by completing a Self-Assessment tax return form or using the 'real-time' service available by this link www.gov.uk/report-and-pay-your-capital-gains-tax/if-you-have-other-capital-gains-to-report.
By giving an instruction on the Share schemes website, you are confirming that you're aware of the possible impact of CGT and acknowledge that it is your responsibility to report the gain and pay any tax due accordingly.
For further information on the EQi ISA please visit www.EQi.co.uk or contact the EQi Customer Experience Centre on 0345 0700 720. Lines are open 08:00 to 17:30, Monday to Friday (excluding UK Public holidays).
You’ll need to login to your EQi account and trade (buy/sell). You can view the current share price and obtain a quote confirming all costs and charges relating to that trade. Alternatively, you can contact the EQi Customer Experience Centre on 0345 0700 720 or https://eqi.co.uk/info/contact, but telephone trading fees will apply.
Yes, there is an Admin fee minimum £20 or 1% of the total value of the shares that you elected to buy. The total includes shares transferred into your EQi ISA and the balance in your EQi Dealing account, this will be due for payment when the shares are transferred to EQi.
Apart from the Admin fee which is payable once, your EQi ISA will be free of a custody fee until 31 December 2025, once the free period expires your account will move to the standard EQi pricing model. Full details of all EQi fees can be found at https://eqi.co.uk/info/how-it-works/pricing
Your first online sale will be at nil commission, any subsequent transactions (Buy/Sell) will be charged a flat rate of £10.99.
Full details of our dealing fees can be found at https://eqi.co.uk/info/how-it-works/pricing under Dealing commission
There is no custody fee to pay if there are no cash or assets held within the EQi ISA, however if there is no activity over a year, your account will be classed as dormant and you'll be contacted to see if you want to keep your account open. If there is no reply or you let us know that you'd like to close the account, EQi will will make these arrangements.
Join a WEALTH at work webinar, https://wealthatwork.event-registration.co.uk/events/marks-spencer/sharesave, and following a group session, you’ll then have the opportunity for a 1:1 guidance call to talk through any individual questions you have.
All instructions to buy the shares are to be processed on a weekly basis. After 24 January 2025, the cut-off to receive an instruction is 6pm each Thursday and Equiniti will start to process your instruction the following Thursday. Key dates are available on the Share Schemes microsite and will tell you the dates of when your shares will be sold or transferred to an EQi ISA or Share Service account.
You cannot request a repayment online during the maturity election window. If you'd like to take a repayment, remember that if you do this before the maturity date your options will lapse and you will not reach maturity. If you take a repayment after the maturity date, your options will remain and be exercisable if you change your mind. Reach out to the Equiniti Employee helpline if you'd like more information on this. Online web chat is available via the help centre on the share scheme website.
Yes you can elect to reinvest your Dividend payment and make these changes within your EQi account.
To set up Income Payaway on your account from your dashboard, you will need to click on Quick Links > Income Settings on the account you wish to set up income Payaway for.
It is a requirement by law to confirm the identity of all individuals using an EQi ISA, if it is not possible to verify your identity a letter will be sent to you requesting some identification documents, the letter will list the documents that you can use to complete the verification.
If the ID documents are not received by the time your shares are ready to be allotted to your EQi ISA account then all your shares will be held in the Dealing account. If after 30 days after your shares have been allotted to your EQi Dealing account the ID documents have still not been received a further letter will be sent advising your shares will be converted to a certificate and be posted out to you if the ID documents haven't been received at 45 days, your EQi account will be closed and your admin fee refunded.