Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

27 (1) A person must not be eligible to obtain rights under the scheme at any time unless he is at that time a full-time director or qualifying employee of the grantor or, in the case of a group scheme, of a participating company, but the scheme may provide that a person may exercise rights under it after he has ceased to be a full-time director or qualifying employee.

(2) The scheme must not permit any person obtaining rights under it to transfer any of them but may provide that, if a person who has obtained rights under it dies before exercising them, they may be exercised after, but not more than one year after, the date of his death.

(3) Where the scheme contains the provision permitted by sub-paragraph (2) above and any rights are exercised—

(a) after the death of the person who obtained them; but

(b) before the expiry of the period of ten years beginning with his obtaining them;

subsection (3) of section 185 shall apply with the omission of the reference to subsection (5) of that section.

(4) In sub-paragraph (1) above “qualifying employee”, in relation to a company, means an employee of the company (other than one who is a director of the company or, in the case of a group scheme, of a participating company) who is required, under the terms of his employment, to work for the company for at least 20 hours a week.