Ryanair had some good news for its 1,000 staff this week, announcing that they were to be included in a new £20 million share option scheme. This is the first companywide scheme to be introduced by an Irish firm.

Employees will be able to hold the shares themselves, unlike more common schemes where staff shares are held through an ESOP trust structure.

The exact number of options to be set aside will depend on Ryanair's market price when it announces its full-year results next month. The shares are currently trading at around 520p.

The scheme will be salary-related and employees will have five years to exercise their options over the shares.