DOMINO'S PIZZA EMPLOYEES OFFERED A SLICE OF THE PIE

DOMINO'S Pizza (ASX: DMP) has launched an employee share acquisition plan which will give its 26,000 staff the option of buying between $1,000 and $5,000 worth of shares per month with their pre-tax salary.

The share acquisition plan is voluntary for the 2017 and 2018 financial years and the purchases will be on market or the Brisbane-based company will issue new shares.

The allocated shares will be subject to trading conditions for 12 months and employees can elect for longer restriction periods of up to three years.

Domino's has not nominated the maximum number of shares to be issued and says it cannot be determined at this stage, as it depends on the market prices of shares each month. It also relies on the company's decision as to whether to acquire or issue new shares.

The company says the plan is designed to attract and motivate employees and allow them to "share in the success of the company" and "align the interests of employees with those of shareholders".

DMP has recently endured its toughest period as a listed company due to a brutal storm of bad publicity over alleged underpayment of its workers and disgruntled franchisees who have been critical of the business model.

A Fairfax Media investigation in February reported that wage fraud had taken place not just among franchises, but also in Domino's own company-run corporate stores.

Domino's worked with the Fair Work Ombudsman to get to the bottom of the claims and the negative publicity hit the share price by around 30 percent from its peak of $80 in August 2016.

CEO Don Meij revealed that an estimated 2,400 workers had been underpaid over three years and around $4.5 million had been collected from franchises which had been involved in underpayment.

DMP shares were trading at $60.83 at market opening on Friday.