A MAJOR York employer has announced plans to give staff £1,000 in shares as thanks for their efforts.

Aviva which employs about 2,000 people in York said it was 'only right' that staff shared in the value they had helped to create, with plans to give £1,000 of shares to its 22,000 employees.

The news came as the insurance giant also revealed plans to hand back another £3.75 billion to shareholders on the same day it announced a deal to buy national financial advice firm, Succession Wealth for £385 million.

This acquisition will enable the company giant to grow its presence in the UK wealth market and expand its ability to offer financial advice to its six million pensions and savings customers.

Amanda Blanc, Group chief executive officer, said 2021 was 'a year of significant strategic progress right across Aviva', with the company completing the sale of eight non-core businesses.

"Our financial position is strengthened and Aviva is now a much simpler, leaner business, focused on our core markets in the UK, Ireland and Canada.

"Today we are announcing a total capital return to shareholders of £4.75bn, including the existing £1bn share buyback, delivering on our promise to shareholders by returning more than £4bn," she said.

"We are confident in the future and are setting out plans for further investment to enhance our capabilities and accelerate growth, starting with the acquisition of Succession Wealth, a leading national financial advice firm, which we have announced today."

She added: "Our people are central to our success, and it’s only right that they share in the value they’ve helped create. So we are giving each of our 22,000 employees £1,000 in Aviva shares, to say thank you.

"The focus and strengthen parts of our strategy are complete and we are now wholly focused on accelerating performance.

"Our trading in 2021 was strong, reinforcing our confidence that Aviva can grow sustainably.

"Our general insurance volumes are the highest in over a decade, life insurance sales grew by 23 per cent, and we are on track to reduce controllable costs by £300m by the end of 2022.

"The progress we’ve made in the last year shows Aviva has what it takes to produce attractive and sustainable returns for shareholders. Our performance and progress give us the confidence to announce today an update to our dividend policy, with estimated dividend per share growth of about 40per cent in 20222,3 to 31.5p, based on the illustrative consolidation ratio.

"Aviva has the foundations in place to deliver its promise. We’ve achieved a lot in the last year but we’re only just getting started. There is so much more Aviva can and will deliver for our customers and our shareholders."