This section applies if shares having a market value of no less than £2000 are acquired by an employee in consideration of an employee shareholder agreement.

An amount F2equal to the market value of the shares is to be treated as earnings from the employment, in respect of the acquisition of the shares, for the tax year in which they are acquired.

But this is subject to subsection (4).

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If the shares are acquired pursuant to an employment-related securities option, subsection (2) does not apply.

If subsection (2) applies, nothing else constitutes earnings under this Part from the employment in respect of the acquisition of the shares.

For the purposes of this section F4...—

• shares are “acquired” by an employee if the employee becomes beneficially entitled to them (and they are acquired at the time when the employee becomes so entitled);

• “employee shareholder agreement” means an agreement by virtue of which an employee is an employee shareholder (see section 205A(1)(a) to (d) of the Employment Rights Act 1996);

• “employee shareholder share” means a share acquired by an employee in consideration of an employee shareholder agreement;

• “employee” and “employer company”, in relation to an employee shareholder agreement, mean the individual and the company which enter into the agreement;

• “employment-related securities option” has the same meaning as in Chapter 5 of Part 7 (see section 471(5));

• “market value” has the same meaning as it has for the purposes of TCGA 1992 by virtue of Part 8 of that Act; and the market value of shares is their market value on the day on which they are acquired (but see also subsection (7)).