Retailer Clicks said on Monday over 5,800 employees would share R1.3 billion as the first 50 percent payout under its broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) scheme.
Clicks said the second and final payment would be made in 2019, adding to R34 million in dividends given to employees over the past six years.
The BEE scheme has enabled almost 7,839 current and former employees to become shareholders in Clicks Group, 84 percent of them black and 66 percent female.
“Extending equity ownership to employees has also enabled the group to accelerate transformation and build on the progress that we have made,” group human resources director Bertina Engelbrecht said.
This had been complemented by learnership and graduate development programmes across several retail disciplines, as well as Clicks’ in-house pharmacy healthcare academy which trains pharmacy assistants, she said.
“As the largest employer of pharmacy staff in the private sector in South Africa with over 2 700 pharmacy and clinic professionals, we continue to invest in capacity creation,” Engelbrecht said. Since 2012 the group had funded bursaries for 400 pharmacy students and provided internships for 266 pharmacy graduates, she added. (via African News Agency)
