RSU (Restricted Stock Unit)

In recruiter context

Typical RSU package: 4-year vest, 1-year cliff (nothing before 12 months), then quarterly vesting after that. UK tax: RSUs are taxed as income at vest (PAYE), not at grant. If your shares vest at £20,000 and you're a higher-rate taxpayer, you owe £8,400 income tax + £400 NI immediately, even though the cash is now in shares not money. Most employers sell-to-cover (auto-sell enough shares to pay the tax) — if not, you must reserve cash. Sell-down strategy matters: in volatile markets, holding can wipe out the post-tax value entirely. Senior UK candidates at US tech companies should treat RSUs as income, not lottery tickets, when calculating their effective comp.