ShareSave is open for a limited time each year, usually in October. We send out communications close to the time, to give everyone the opportunity to join if they want to. This year, you can join from 10am on Monday 2 October until 5pm Friday 20 October.

You can join via EquatePlus, our share plan platform. It's run by Computershare, our share plans administrator.

When ShareSave opens, we will arrange for the EquatePlus user ID to be sent to every eligible colleague.

Can't find your login details? Go to the EquatePlus login page to request your password, or call Computershare on 0808 234 3577 — they'll be happy to help you.

When you finish saving for ShareSave, you will get a tax-free bonus. This is instead of having interest on your savings. The level of the tax-free bonus is decided by HMRC, and so isn't under Kingfisher's control.

If you leave ShareSave early, you may get some interest instead of a tax-free bonus. To get this interest, you need to save for at least 12 months. The level of interest is again, decided by HMRC, and so isn't under Kingfisher's control. The interest rate for ShareSave 2023 is 1.42%.

Unfortunately not — once you've chosen how long you want to save for, you'll need to stick to it. However, you can leave ShareSave — see 'Can I leave ShareSave early?'.

Yes, you can take a savings break of up to 12 months if you need to. This can be a single break of 12 months, or a series of shorter breaks. You'll need to tell payroll when you want to take a savings break, and how long for, as well as when you want to re-start saving.

If you decide to take a savings break, that time will be added to the end of ShareSave. For each month you take a savings break, you'll save for one month longer. This will delay the date at which you can buy your shares. You can't make up for missed payments by back-dating them or overpaying in future months.

If you take more than 12 months' break, your ShareSave contract will end, and you can take all your savings back. If you started ShareSave in 2023 or later, you'll also receive some interest on your savings if you've been in ShareSave for more than a year.

You may go on long term leave — for example, parental leave, long-term sickness or a career break.

If you're still being paid, and the amount you're paid is more than the amount you're saving each month, you'll automatically continue to save each month. You can, of course, ask for a payment break.

If you're not getting any pay, you can either take a break, or arrange to make the payments yourself while you're away. If you want to continue saving, please contact Computershare on 0808 234 3577 to set up a standing order.

You can still buy your shares at the discounted Option price if you:

• Finish your ShareSave payments while you're on leave, or
• Return to work for Kingfisher after your leave, or
• Decide to leave Kingfisher, and it's been more than 3 years since you started ShareSave.

If you don't return to Kingfisher after your leave, you can cancel your ShareSave and get all your savings back.

Yes, you can leave ShareSave at any time and take all your savings back. If you've been saving for more than a year, you'll get some interest on your savings, too. You can request to leave ShareSave through the EquatePlus portal.

Please note if you choose to leave early, you won't be able to buy Kingfisher shares at the discounted share price.

Yes. Your savings are held independently by the Bank of Scotland, and are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. For more information, see the 'Legal Info' page.

No, joining ShareSave will not impact statutory sick pay, statutory maternity pay, or any other employee benefits you receive.

If you lose your user ID or forget your password, you can ask for your login details to be sent to your email address. Go to the EquatePlus login page, and follow the on-screen prompts.

For any other issues accessing your EquatePlus Portal, contact Computershare on 0808 234 3577.

If you change your name and/or address, please let your HR team know your new details. They will update your EquatePlus portal once payroll have updated their records.

What you choose to do may depend on a number of factors, including your personal circumstances and our share price at the time. These are the potential outcomes, and how they could impact you:

1. Our share price increases while you're saving. If you buy your shares at the discounted Option price, you get a discount on your shares of 20% plus any increase in the share price. For example, Mohammed joins ShareSave when the Kingfisher share price is £2. With the 20% reduction, Mohammed knows he can use his savings to buy Kingfisher shares at the discounted Option price of £1.60. When ShareSave finishes the Kingfisher share price has gone up to £2.40. Mohammed can still buy his shares at £1.60, which is a discount of over 33%.
2. Our share price decreases while you're saving by less than 20%. You still get a discount on your shares, but it'll be less than 20%. For example, Jane joins ShareSave when the Kingfisher share price is £1.50. With the 20% reduction, Jane knows she can use her savings to buy Kingfisher shares at the discounted Option price of £1.20. When ShareSave finishes, the Kingfisher share price has gone down to £1.30. Jane can still buy her shares at £1.20 — this is a discount of almost 8%.
3. Our share price decreases while you're saving by more than 20%. You will pay more for the shares than they are worth. For example, Dean joins ShareSave when the Kingfisher share price is £2.50. With the 20% reduction, Dean knows he can use his savings to buy Kingfisher shares at the discounted Option price of £2.00. When ShareSave finishes, the Kingfisher share price has gone down to £1.50. Dean can still buy his shares at £2.00 — but he would make a loss of 25%. Dean therefore decides to take all of his savings and his bonus back as cash.

Remember, the share prices can go down as well as up, and may continue to fluctuate if you decide to keep your shares.

Any profits you make when you sell your shares may be subject to tax — see the tax questions below for more information.

Whether you need to pay any tax at the end of ShareSave — and how much you need to pay — will depend on your personal circumstances, and what you choose to do.

• Taking back your savings. There's no tax to pay on your savings at this point; and your bonus is tax-free!
• Buying shares and selling them. You won't need to pay any Income Tax. However, if you sell your shares for more than you paid for them, you'll make a profit. You may have to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on your profit, although not on costs such as bank transfer fees. HMRC provides a tax-free allowance every year. This means you can keep the first bit of profit you make tax-free. This applies to any profit from all assets you sell in a tax year, including shares in other companies. The allowance is currently £6,000 per tax year, although from April 2024, it'll reduce £3,000. Future CGT allowance rates are subject to change. See the HMRC website for more details.
• Keeping your shares. You're entitled to dividends from Kingfisher. This is a share of our profits, which we pay to our shareholders typically twice a year, although this is not guaranteed. Each year, HMRC gives you a dividend allowance before you have to pay tax on dividends. This allowance is across all the shares you own, including shares in other companies. To check your allowance and see whether you owe tax, see the HMRC website.
• Buying shares and transferring them to an ISA. You can transfer your shares to a stocks and shares ISA. If you do this within 90 days, you won't have to pay any CGT. You also won't have to pay tax on any dividends you may receive while you keep your shares, and even better, you won't have to pay CGT on any sale directly from your ISA.

If you need to pay CGT or Dividend tax, you'll need to report it to HMRC. You can do this by filling out a self-assessment tax return. If you need to pay CGT, you can also use HMRC's real-time CGT service. The amount of tax you need to pay will depend on your personal circumstances.

If you're not sure whether you need to pay tax, you can speak to a professional financial adviser, or fill out a self-assessment tax return — HMRC will then let you know if you need to pay any tax.

It's not something we want to think about, but if you die while you're saving in ShareSave, your contributions will automatically stop. Your personal representative can choose to:

• Take back your savings in full
• Use your savings to buy the discounted shares with the savings held at that time. They'll need to do this within 12 months of the date of death, or the end of ShareSave — whichever comes first.

For more guidance on this, please contact Computershare on 0808 234 3577.