JCB employees get a bonus and pay rise this Christmas.

JCB's 4,400 employees at its Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham factories will share in a bonus worth a total of over GBP2 million (USD3.1 million) this Christmas.

The construction equipment maker has announced that each employee will receive a GBP500 (USD784) bonus and a 5.2% pay rise, which is linked to November's Retail Price Index.

Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford says the company sold 51,600 machines and sales grew by over 30% this year.

"The award of another Christmas bonus and a substantial pay increase wouldn't have been possible without team work at JCB during the severe economic downturn of 2008 and 2009 when everyone worked together to ensure the business emerged strongly from a difficult trading period," Bamford says.

In October 2008, UK production employees voted to work a 34-hour week to help save the jobs of hundreds of their colleagues. All employees also endured an 18-month pay freeze from 2009 to the northern summer of 2010.

"The economic outlook has become more uncertain in recent months but if we continue to work as a team, I'm sure we can achieve even more next year," Bamford says.