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rogan
I very much think they wouldn't be. They are not like regular shareholdings at all. They belong to the company until you sell them. And as Dammit says, they will withhold over 50% of the shares when they "vest" to account for tax. Then when you sell, there is usually an additional bump in your pay packet the next month to account for them having held back too much when the shares vested.
Somebody explained it to me in the following way;
Your company gives you 400 shares, 25% to vest each year.
At the end of year 1, the first 100 vest but to account for tax, your company will only release ~45, effectively taxing you 55%
Then if you want to sell those, you will get whatever the current rate is, likely also paying a fee to the company that manages it plus another charge for them to convert to £. THen your bank might charge international wire fees.
Then in your next pay packet, you'll get another lump from your company as a rebate as it is unlikely you should be paying 55% tax.
Ultimately, it's still free money, but usually nowhere near as much as when you first look at it.