What is Vesting?

“Vesting” is a contractual structure to facilitate gradual transfer of ownership. It is a legal term referring to the process in which a person secures his ownership of (legally referred to as “title to”) certain assets over a period of time. 

What is a Vesting Period?

Vesting is a typical construct built around ownership of shares, and also refers to the process by which conditional ownership of such shares is converted to full ownership (including rights of transferability) over a fixed period of time. A critical feature of vesting is that the person will only have conditional ownership of such shares until the fixed period (legally referred to as the “Vesting Period”) is completed. 

What are Vesting Schedules?

Depending on the needs of the contractual relationship and subject to applicable laws, vesting can adopt many forms. However, a common element found in most forms of vesting is the “Vesting Schedule”, i.e., the breakdown showing how the relevant assets/shares will be transferred to the ownership of the person over the Vesting Period. 

Types of Vesting Schedules

(i) Uniform or Linear Vesting – a simple process through which the person receives a percentage of their shares over a fixed period of time. Eg: if an employee is granted 10,000 options with 25% of them vesting per year for 4 years, then the employee will have vested 2,500 shares after 1 year and can exercise the rights to the same in accordance with the applicable policies. 

(ii) Bullet Vesting – usually employed on a need-based circumstance in the event of any operational delay impacting the Vesting Schedule, bullet vesting works in one shot, completing the vesting in one instance.  

(iii) Performance-based Vesting – tied typically to the performance of an employee in relation to stock option grants, performance based vesting will depend on the satisfaction of a performance condition. This can be in the nature of milestones to be achieved by the employee or revenue goals to be achieved by the company. The critical feature here is that there is no fixed Vesting Period in such a model, and the vesting is instead directly tied to the achievement of performance goals.

(iv) Hybrid Vesting – usually a combination of linear and performanced-based vesting, this type of vesting will often require the fulfillment of tenure and performance requirements. Eg: an employee is required to complete a four year tenure in addition to satisfying certain key performance indicators in order to receive the full set of options/benefits. 

(v) Cliff Vesting – in such a model, no benefits are vested in a person until a certain predetermined point in time is reached. Once that time is met, all options/benefits become fully vested at once. Eg: if a 1-year cliff vesting is employed for grant of employee stock options, the employee will receive 100% of the options only once the full year has been completed with the company. 

Examples of Vesting: Employee Stock Option Plans and Founder Vesting – Explained:

Vesting is largely relevant to startups in two main areas: (i) employee stock option plans (“ESOP”); and (ii) lock-in of founder shares: 

1. Employee Stock Option Plans:

ESOPs are a vital component of modern employee compensation structures and prove a great tool for employee motivation and retention. Through an ESOP scheme, an employee is: (i) given the right to purchase certain shares in his name through the ESOP pool formulated by the employer company (“Grant of Option”); (ii) required to complete the Vesting Period during which the shares will vest in his name; and (iii) exercise the right to purchase the shares upon completion of the Vesting Schedule at a predetermined price (as per terms of the ESOP scheme).

It is important to note here that under Indian law, the Securities Exchange Board of India (Share Based Employee Benefits) Regulations, 2014 (applicable to listed public companies) and the Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules, 2014 (applicable to private and unlisted public companies) both prescribe a mandatory minimum Vesting Period of 1 year from the date of Grant of Option.  As such, any ESOP scheme formulated by an Indian company will need to comply with this requirement.

ESOPs typically see use of any of the above described Vesting Schedules. This is because Vesting Schedules primarily serve as a great tool to employee motivation and retention, as when ESOPs are granted to employees, they become part owners of the company and consequently, aligning their performance and goals with those of the company over the Vesting Schedule proves beneficial for overall growth. Further, employee turnover is a huge cost incurred by a company and grant of ESOPs acts as a means to dissuade employees from leaving until their options/grants have fully vested.  

2. Founder Vesting:

In a funding round – especially where an institutional investor is brought onto the capitalisation table of a company for the first time, much of the trust forming the basis of the investment is rooted in the demonstrated results, passion, experience and skillset of the founders. Consequently, in order to secure the investment for a minimum period and to ensure the founders do not exit the company prematurely, the parties will typically agree to a lock-in of the founders’ shares, which will give them conditional ownership until completion of a Vesting Schedule, at which point in time the unconditional ownership of all their shares is restored to the founders. 

Founder Vesting typically sees use of linear, bullet or cliff vesting. Given that the founders are originally shareholders of the company who voluntarily accept restrictions on their shares for a fixed period of time, performance-based or hybrid vesting would not typically be accepted for release of these locked shares. Consequently, a clear Vesting Schedule that employs the linear, bullet or cliff vesting options provides greater clarity to the parties and offers a modicum of flexibility when determining the Vesting Schedule. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Vesting in India:

1. How long does a typical Vesting Period last?

According to the Securities Exchange Board of India (Share Based Employee Benefits) Regulations, 2014 (applicable to listed public companies) and the Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules, 2014 (applicable to private and unlisted public companies) both prescribe a mandatory minimum Vesting Period of 1 year from the date of Grant of Option and consequently companies/parties are free to determine the upper limit. However, we see that Vesting Periods typically last between 3 and 5 years.

2. Can a Vesting Schedule be accelerated? 

Yes, however this would be possible in limited, predefined circumstances. For example, in the event that an employee is permanently incapacitated or dies during the Vesting Period, companies will typically accelerate the Vesting Period in order to ensure that the employee (or their legal heirs/executors of estate) is able to exercise the rights on the options that would have otherwise vested in accordance with the schedule, but for the extenuating circumstance. Similarly, the same principle can be applied to vesting of founders’ shares, in the event of the mutually agreed departure of a founder (also known as a good leaver situation). This is ultimately dependent on the terms of the applicable policy/agreement between the parties.

3. Can a Vesting Schedule be changed? 

Generally, altering a Vesting Schedule is not permitted, but there are specific situations where changes can be made. For example, in the case of ESOPs, if the company must amend its ESOP policy to comply with applicable laws, the Vesting Schedule can be modified accordingly. Additionally, if the alteration benefits the employee or enhances the effectiveness of the ESOP scheme, changes may be allowed, provided they comply with legal guidelines.

For founder shares, where the Vesting Schedule is part of a contractual agreement, modifications can be made if they adhere to applicable laws and are mutually agreed upon by all parties involved.

4. How does ESOP vesting work for a startup?

For example, if a startup employee is granted 10,000 stock options with a 4-year vesting schedule and a 1-year cliff, the employee must remain employed with the company for at least 1 year before any options vest. After the cliff period (i.e., once the 1-year mark is reached), 25% of the options (2,500 shares) will vest. The remaining options will then vest evenly at a rate of 25% per year over the next 3 years.

5. How does vesting work in case of lock in of founder shares?

For example, according to the contractual agreement between the parties, 80% of the founders’ shares will be locked in for a period of 4 years, allowing the founders to retain 20% of their shares for immediate liquidity. The locked-in shares will then vest at a rate of 20% per year over the 4-year period, meaning the founders will achieve full (100%) ownership of their shares only at the end of the fourth year.