The media loves writing stories about “fat cat” company bosses pocketing millions in bonuses, but this week they had to write a story explaining the exact opposite.

As the recession set in, it spawned a slew of media articles that focused on executive pay – and as those articles tended to sell newspapers, journalists kept on writing them. While those stories have died down of late, public suspicion of industry bosses prevails – yet this week the CEO of Next has gone against the grain by deciding to share his bonus with all his employees.

In a letter sent on Wednesday, retail chief Simon Wolfson announced that he was going to share his £4 million bonus with the company’s 20,000 employees. He told staff that the company’s share price trebling and the 65% rise in earnings per share over the past three years has meant his bonus has “become more valuable than I could possibly have hoped … I am also in the very fortunate position to have significantly benefited as a shareholder … In these circumstances, instead of accepting the award, I have asked the board if they will share it among all those who have worked for the company [from] 28 April 2011 to 28 April 2014.”

He added: “I hope you will accept this bonus as a personal gesture of thanks and appreciation for all your hard work and dedication to Next through testing economic times … Together, you have helped ensure that Next emerges from the credit crunch in better shape than it went in.”

The payout equates to roughly £200 per employee or 1.5% of their annually salary.

What makes this move all the more unusual is that it’s the second time Wolfson has done this – having shared his £2.4 million bonus last year. Critics may point out that the CEO is unlikely to feel too hard up as he’ll still probably pocket annual pay of something in the region of £4.6 million (as, indeed, he did last year). But at least this week, there’s one boss turning the tide on the negative fat cat stories.