Anish Vij
A boss gave his 60 employees £750 each to help them pay their energy bills amid the cost of living crisis.
James Hipkins, managing director of Emerys Timber and Builders Merchants, took a whopping £45,000 out of his own pocket because he knows 'everyone is suffering'.
The biggest jump in domestic energy bills in living memory came into effect last Friday (1 April), with many families facing further financial struggles across the UK.
The 51-year-old wanted to 'share back' because his business was running so well.
Advert
The dad-of-three told The Sun: "With everybody struggling we just thought we want to share some of that good fortune with the staff.
"They weren’t expecting it and they were overjoyed.
"I think they’ve found it’s a great help when everything’s a bit bleak. If you believe in your people, give back to them when you’re doing well.
"You can’t just think ‘aren’t we good’ when someone’s having a tough time.
Advert
"I think that should be a contagious ethos. And hopefully you breed some loyalty with it."
The director has an open door policy and reckons the 'slow turnover of staff' is because he ultimately aims to respect those working for him.
He explained: “It’s nice that we can see we are doing well as a company and it’s nice to feel it’s shared back with the people who make it successful.
"We are only as good as our people - they are the ones who produce the figures and make us profitable.”
The director added: “Being a good boss is getting good figures and good results but it’s also providing good opportunities and a good environment. You spend a lot of time at work and if you can enjoy it all the better."
Advert
He isn't the only boss who's decided to help out their employees.
To alleviate his staff’s concerns, managing director David Anderson decided to hand out a £750 ‘energy supplement’ to all 58 of his workers.
Anderson, who manages Joseph Parr, a builder's merchant based in Portrack, has also handed the cash to young apprentices who still live at home to give to their parents.
And his generosity doesn’t end there, as he also dolled out an over-inflation pay rise in January, saying he was spurred on by the news of rising petrol and energy prices across the UK.
Advert
The 52-year-old said: "When you talk to individual members of staff, there's fear of fuel going up - they were putting £60 in their tank, and it's now £80.
"We looked at this back in November/December when we were looking at pay rises and thought we need to give people a decent rise this year because of inflation.
"When you look at how things are, I thought it was a good idea to give them that bit of a boost."