A private company in Yichang, Hubei Province, has begun paying out higher monthly stipends to help support the parents of exceptional employees, reports the Chutian Metropolis Daily.

Undated photo showing the deposit book of an employee's parents who receive a "gratitude fee" from the Yichang Changjiang Machine Technology. [File photo: cnhubei.com]

Yichang Changjiang Machine Technology produces milling machines, employing around 500 people.

In a bid to bolster productivity, the company began giving out money to the parents of top-performing workers, senior managerial staff and key researchers every month.

Starting at 200 yuan (around 29 USD) in 2007, the company has now raised the rate of its "gratitude fee" to 500 yuan per month.

The company has paid out around 4 million yuan since the morale-building initative began 11 years ago.

Yichang Changjiang Machine Technology generates around 200 million yuan a year in revenues.