In June 2001 the official Belgian Journal published a new law on employee participation. The newly introduced employee participation schemes differ from the existing benefit schemes as they require the participation of all employees of the firm. Different remuneration schemes are possible: direct financial benefit in the profits of the company or an employee stock ownership plan. In the latter system the employees have the right to contribute their shares in a corporation. The object of the present paper is to provide a general overview of a new type of corporation that can be used to manage the shares. The "coöperatieve participatievennootschap" stems from the "coöperatieve vennootschap". The founders decide on the limited or unlimited liability. This paper proves that the new type has some advantages, but in general it can be expected that due to the absence of a balanced legal framework employees will not be akin to found a "coöperatieve participatievennootschap". Published in: Financiële participatie door werknemers: de Wet van 22 mei 2001, Kluwer, 2001, 141-167.