Question: (org. on Quora)

Answer (by Dan Walter)

The most common company policy for RSUs follows the basic structure below:

1) Award of RSUs, generally to be settled in stock when they vest (some companies convert the RSUs to cash)
2) Vesting schedule of 3 years (annually increments or cliff vested) (this period can vary widely).  Vesting is may also be restricted to ONLY occur after a period of time AND a liquidity event like and IPO or Change in Control. — this is becoming far more common.
3) When RSUs vest they are “converted” to real stock and delivered to the participant (or held in electronic book entry).
4) When the individual leaves the company the unvested RSUs are forfeited back to the company. The vested RSUs are now shares (usually of common stock) and the individual is therefore a shareholder.
5) Most companies let people who hold shares keep the shares.  They also usually restricted any transactions so the shareholders have little or no liquidity until a major event.
6) It is uncommon, but not unheard of, for companies to take back vested and delivered shares.  When they do they usually pay the individual the current market price.

NOTE:  There are a ton of exceptions to every single statement above.  The statements above may not represent the best strategy for every (or any) company. Equity compensation is Variable, Variable, Variable, Variable (and up to three more variables) compensation. The type of equity, the number of shares/units/options/etc., the price at the time granted, the price when vested, the currency at the start and end, the vesting schedule and several other components can all be variable within a single award. “Normal” is often not synonymous with “best”.