SEBI has clarified to Multi Commodity Exchange of India that employees and ex-employees of its erstwhile promoter FTIL would not be considered as ‘employees’ for the purpose of exemption from lock-in for ESOPs. SEBI was replying to an informal guidance sought by MCX.
The exchange had received an e-mail from an ex -employee who said that shares allotted under ESOP to an employee shall be eligible for exemption from lock-in irrespective of the fact that the allottee had ceased to be an employee at the time of listing.
SEBI said that an employee is “a permanent and full-time employee, working in India or abroad, of the issuer or of the holding company or subsidiary company or of that material associate(s) of the issuer whose financial statements are consolidated with the issuer’s financial statements. This also includes a director of the issuer, whether whole time or part time and does not include promoters and an immediate relative of the promoter…”