In most cases, yes. However, if the total applications exceed the maximum number of shares available, the amount you have applied to save per pay period may be reduced – this is known as a scale down. If we have to do this, we’ll let you know at the start of the plan.
The discounted share price for Sharesave 2023 was calculated by taking 20% off the average J Sainsbury plc share price between 15th and 17th November 2023.
Confirmation of your Sharesave 2023 plan and your savings amount will be sent to you in January 2024. The certificate has all the details of your Sharesave plan and the shares that would be available to you in 2027 at maturity. Please note that this will be a confirmation of your savings, it is not a share certificate.
Payments start in the February following the invitation window. You will make 36 payments in total. Payments are taken directly from your pay after tax. We recommend that you check your payslips and deductions regularly.
Once you have joined Sharesave you cannot increase or decrease your payments. However, you can leave the plan at any time and you’ll always get back the money you put in.
These savings will not count towards the maximum savings limit per pay period, provided you have not missed any contributions. You can also choose to cancel your savings from your other existing Sharesave plans. If you cancel a Sharesave plan before the Sharesave invitation closes., these savings will not count towards the maximum savings limit.
You can miss up to 12 payments and still continue with your Sharesave plan. However, if you miss 13 payments, your savings contract will lapse and you’ll no longer be able to buy shares at the discounted share price. Your savings will be returned to you.
If you miss 12 or fewer payments, you still need to make the maximum number of payments and the date when you could buy shares (also know as the maturity date) will be delayed.
A Sharesave Payment Holiday Form can be found at oursainsburys.co.uk/shares.
Colleagues can also obtain the form and further information by emailing shareholder.Services@sainsburys.co.uk
Provided that you are receiving sufficient pay to cover your chosen contribution amount, your payments will continue to be taken as normal. If you are worried that your pay will not cover your contributions, you are able to miss up to 12 payments (see previous question) or you can close your plan and take back your savings.
If you don’t have enough money in your pay to cover your Sharesave contributions, you can make payments directly to EQ. If you require a standing order form to do this, please contact the EQ Employee Helpline on +44 (0)333 207 6545 or email Sainsburys@equiniti.com. Make sure you add your personal email address in MyHR before you go on leave so you don’t miss any updates.
Don’t worry, you’ll always get back the money you put in. If you need to close your account at any time and for any reason, you can do so online by visiting oursainsburys.co.uk/shares. If you close your account before the completion of the Sharesave contract, you lose the option to buy shares at the discounted share price.
For Sharesave 2023, if you close your account during the first year, all your savings will be repaid without interest; after the first year, and when EQ has successfully received 12 payments, you will receive interest on your savings. The level of interest to be paid on early withdrawals (the early leaver rate) is fixed by HMRC at the start of the savings contract. The early leaver rate for Sharesave 2023 is 1.42%. This will be tax free.
For Sharesave 2022 and earlier, no interest will be paid.
You can contact the EQ Employee Helpline on 0333 207 6545 or email Sainsburys@equiniti.com for more information.
If you leave before the maturity date due to redundancy, retirement, TUPE transfer or through a capability dismissal following a period of long-term absence, you can:
You will have six months from your leaving date to decide what to do and EQ will write to you to explain your choices.
If you leave before the maturity date for any other reason, you can either get your savings back with any interest due or continue saving (subject to your savings status). However, you lose the right to purchase shares at the discounted share price. More detailed information can be found on sainsburysshareplans.co.uk.
If you leave after the maturity date, the usual maturity choices will apply.
To see your savings to date, log into the share plans website at oursainsburys.co.uk/shares.
If your home address or bank details change, update your details through MyHR and this will be passed to EQ to update your Sharesave plan. If you have any other questions about Sharesave, please call the EQ helpline 0333 207 6545 or email Sainsburys@equiniti.com.
Your savings, which are held with Lloyds Bank plc, are your own and are 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 scheme, refer to the FSCS website www.fscs.org.uk or call the FSCS on telephone number +44 20 7741 4100.
Please visit the Financial Wellbeing page on OurSainsburys.co.uk to learn more about financial wellbeing.
MiFID II is a financial regulation and has been designed to protect investors such as yourself, by introducing enhanced obligations for firms who provide investment services. Its aim is to increase customer protection and prevent market abuse.
As a result, we will have to provide additional information to regulatory bodies about certain transactions, and in order to do this, we may need to collect additional information about you. This mandatory information needs to be provided if you are choosing to sell your shares. If the mandatory information is not received, or is completed incorrectly, we will complete your exercise as if you have elected to keep all of your shares.
The EQ team are available by telephone (+44 (0) 333 207 6545) or email (Sainsburys@equiniti.com) from 8.30am to 5.30pm (UK time), Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays in England and Wales).
At the end of the savings term (around mid-February), you will receive information explaining the choices available to you and the action you need to take. You’ll then be able to buy shares at the discounted share price or have your savings returned to you. If you don’t make a decision within six months, all of your savings will be returned to you automatically.
If you want to buy your shares (to keep or to sell), go to oursainsburys.co.uk/shares.
Under 'I want to...', on the home page, click 'Manage my Sharesave Maturity' and follow the on-screen Sharesave Maturity instructions.
If you haven’t registered for online access before, please select ‘Register’ on the home page. Under ‘Where do you work?’, select ‘J Sainsbury plc’ and complete the requested information. You will need to enter your last name, date of birth, email address and your My HR colleague number (available on your payslip).
To complete the Registration process, you will receive an Activation Code as follows:
You will need to wait for this Activation Code before submitting your instruction.
If you want your savings back, you need to call Equiniti Limited.
We have simplified the process to make your choice, so you do not have to submit an instruction before your maturity date. You can submit your instruction from 9am on Monday 3rd March 2025, if you have not missed any payments.
The maturity instruction placed is irrevocable which cannot be cancelled nor amended under any circumstance. All instructions are dated and time recorded.
In submitting a sale instruction, shares will be transferred into the Corporate Sponsored Nominee and sold on your behalf. If you do not currently hold shares in the Corporate Sponsored Nominee a new holding will be created for you in accordance with the Corporate Sponsored Nominee Terms and Conditions, and an opening statement will be issued. This will show the number of shares transferred to the Corporate Sponsored Nominee. The sale of shares will appear on your next quarterly statement. Shares will be visible in your ESP Portal account and Shareview Portfolio until settlement of the sale, and depending on market conditions, may be held for you for several days. Terms and conditions can be found under ‘Quick Links’ on ESP Portal when you submit your instruction.
As the 31st August is a Sunday (not a trading day), the last date to make your instruction is Friday 29th August 2025, even if your maturity date is later due to missed payments if you have not missed any payments.
If you wish to choose the ‘Buy and sell your shares’ option you need to make your choice (your 'instruction') on oursainsburys.co.uk/shares by 11.00am on Friday 29th August 2025. If you wish to choose the ‘Buy and keep your shares’ option, you need to make your instruction by 5pm on Friday 29th August 2025.
A £15 dealing fee is charged on the sale of your shares if you choose the 'Buy and sell my shares' option. This will be deducted from the proceeds of your sale before you receive the funds. If you choose the 'Buy and keep my shares' option and sell at a later date, different dealing fees will apply. Rates shown were current at the time of publication of this document, however, these are subject to change. To ensure that you are aware of the current applicable rates prior to dealing, please ensure that you have read the latest Terms and Conditions which can be found online at oursainsburys.co.uk/shares.
Under normal circumstances, you will not have to pay income tax when you buy shares at the discounted share price. If you sell your shares and your profit means your total capital gains exceed the annual allowance, you may need to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT). The annual CGT allowance in 2024/25 is £3,000 (see www.gov.uk/tax-sell-shares for details). You should consult a qualified independent financial advisor if you would like advice on Capital Gains Tax, or tax more generally.
If you’ve received an email notification informing you that you’re unable to deal in Sainsbury’s shares, you must wait until you receive an email lifting this restriction before you buy, sell or transfer shares.
2021 Three-year Maturity (£2.28 discounted share price)
Use the Sharesave Calculator for an indication of how much your savings could be worth after 3 years
2019 Five-year Maturity (£1.61 discounted share price)
Use the Sharesave Calculator for an indication of how much your savings could be worth after 5 years
Your shares can be held electronically (in a Nominee account), as a paper certificate, or with a broker.
The Sainsbury’s Nominee service is an online account that is set up to hold your shares electronically on your behalf. The Sainsbury’s Nominee allows you to hold your shares safely and securely without the need for paper certificates, and gives you access to an online share dealing service. You’ll still receive your dividends in cash.
If you would like to receive a paper certificate, you will need to select ‘Buy and Keep Shares’. Your shares will then be transferred to your Sainsbury’s Nominee account. Once in the Nominee, you can request a share certificate. A share certificate will be sent to you by post to your registered address. Please note that your share certificate will be posted at your own risk.
Yes, you can. If you choose to Buy and keep your shares, you can transfer them into an Stocks and Shares ISA or SIPP within 90 days of buying them, you don’t need to think about Capital Gains Tax. If you would like more information, including how to complete the transfer, please contact an Independent Financial Advisor or your Stocks and Shares ISA or SIPP provider.
If you plan to keep your shares electronically in a Sainsbury's Nominee Service account, you’ll need to arrange to open an account for your spouse/civil partner before you confirm your choice online to buy and keep your shares. The Spouse Nominee Form and Terms and Conditions are available in the document section at oursainsburys.co.uk/shares and will need to be completed and posted to the address on the form.
If your spouse/civil partner already has a Sainsbury's Nominee Service account, you'll need to provide their Sainsbury's Nominee Service Shareholder Reference Number under the 'Transfer Shares to spouse/civil partner' section within the 'Maturity statement and choices' page at oursainsburys.co.uk/shares.
If you decide to buy shares, there will usually be a very small amount of money left over (less than the discounted share price). This will be donated to Comic Relief on your behalf unless you select to have the money returned to you. If you do request to have the residue money returned to you this will be paid to your salary bank account and will be a separate payment to any sales proceeds if you requested to sell your shares.
If you have missed payments, deductions from your pay will continue until all payments have been made and the maturity date will be postponed by one month for each missed payment. Your maturity date and last exercise date can be found under 'Maturity date' on the 'Maturity statement and choices' page at oursainsburys.co.uk/shares.
If you don't submit your choice on oursainsburys.co.uk/shares within six months of your Maturity date, you'll no longer be able to buy shares at the discounted share price, and all your savings will automatically be returned to you.
If you choose to buy and sell your shares, your sale proceeds will be sent to the bank account into which you receive your pay after the sale has completed. It can take up to five days to reach your account once payment has been sent. If you'd like to receive your money in a different bank account to the account you receive your pay into, choose buy and keep your shares, and sell them via the Sainsbury’s Nominee Service.
If you choose to buy and keep your shares, it will take five working days for the shares to be available online.
If you take back your savings, your savings will be returned within ten working days. You will receive your savings in the same bank account as your pay.
Once you have submitted your instruction to buy and then sell your shares, you will not be able to cancel it, even if the share price changes or falls below the discounted share price. The share price may change significantly between the time you submit your instruction and the time your shares are actually sold, and you may end up with less money than you saved. If the share price goes below the discounted share price before you submit your instruction, the sale of shares will be suspended for all participants.
The Sainsbury’s share price can be impacted by a number of factors, including general market volatility. If the Sainsbury’s share price falls below the discounted share price of £1.61 (for the 2019 five-year scheme) or £2.28 (for the 2021 three-year scheme) during your six-month maturity window, you won’t be able to give an instruction to buy the shares, as this would result in you receiving less money than you saved. You will still be able to request to take your savings back. By taking your savings back, you won’t be able to buy shares at the discounted share price and could lose the opportunity to make a profit if the share price increases during your six-month maturity window. See What happens if the share price changes significantly when my shares are being sold? for more details.
Remember: You have until Friday 29th August 2025 (11am for choosing to buy and sell your shares, 5pm for choosing to buy and keep your shares) to make your choice so you can wait to see if the share price increases before taking your savings back.
Where possible, shares will be sold the next working day (if your instruction is received by 11am). However, if there is a large volume of shares to sell (e.g. in the first week of March) the shares may be sold up to 5 working days after you provide your instruction. If this happens, the share price will be averaged so that everyone who has sold during that time will have the same price.
You can find more information in the Share Sale Terms & Conditions at oursainsburys.co.uk/shares.
No interest will be paid on Sharesave schemes from 2022 or earlier.
For Sharesave 2023, if you close your account during the first year, all your savings will be repaid without interest; after the first year, and when EQ has successfully received 12 payments, you will receive interest on your savings. The level of interest to be paid on early withdrawals (the early leaver rate) is fixed by HMRC at the start of the savings contract. The early leaver rate for Sharesave 2023 is 1.42%. This will be tax free.
No, you don’t. We all know that share prices can go down as well as up, so you can take back all of your savings as cash. We’ll inform you of all of your choices when you’ve finished saving.
Your contributions will continue to be deducted. The contribution amount will remain the same, even though you are changing payroll frequency. Due to the change in payroll frequency, your contributions may finish sooner or later than usual, but the number of shares you can buy at the end of the plan and the maturity date will not change. If you do move, we recommend that you check your payslip and deductions.
If you would like to transfer your shares into your own brokerage account, you will need to select ‘Buy and Keep Shares’. Your shares will then be transferred to your Sainsbury’s Nominee account. Once in the Nominee, you can request a share certificate. A share certificate will be sent to you by post to your registered address. You will then need to speak to your broker to arrange for the shares to be transferred to your account. Please note that your share certificate will be posted at your own risk.