George Osborne's shares for rights scheme 'helps no one Almost three quarters of small businesses with annual sales of more than £1m think the proposal is a bad idea, research has found. The majority of respondents to a survey by Prelude, an events and networking firm, thought the plan would damage people's trust in business by weakening staff's rights or create the wrong impression of entrepreneurs. The employee-ownership scheme, announced by the Chancellor last week at the Conservative Party conference, would see companies offer workers shares worth between £2,000 and £50,000 in exchange for sacrificing their rights over unfair dismissal, redundancy and requests for flexible working. It is aimed at owners of small and fast-growing businesses. Chris Cole, founder of comparison site Make it Cheaper, said: "I don't think trading employment rights for shares, or shares for a more relaxed employment landscape helps anyone. A business needs long term shareholders focused on the creation of wealth and employees need to be rewarded and treated in a fair and transparent fashion. Derek Hill, chief executive of medical imaging firm IXICO Ltd, said: "I'm much more interested in easier access to debt financing, improving incentives for angel investors and enhancing current share option schemes than this proposal, which seems to mix things up in a way that doesn't take away any specific problem. It rewards bad employers. Helena Hudson, managing director of food chain Real Eating Company, added: "There won't be much demand [for the proposal]. It doesn't take into account the psychological make-up of most employees and why they work. Real, tangible benefits - pay rises, bonuses, gifts, discretionary time off - are far more effective in motivating the majority. The findings of the survey of 100 companies by Prelude echo comments made by Sainsbury's chief Justin King last week, who argued that employee share schemes should not be linked to rights. However, 28pc of small business owners welcomed the idea. Robert Newry, managing director of NewField IT, said: "This idea shows the Government understands that one of the constraints [to growth] is the huge employee rights burden, which are necessary for big corporates but a drain on small businesses. It needs more detail but the initiative is surely to be applauded.