THEY’RE in the money – £150,000 to be precise.

Staff at a Hampshire firm were promised £1,000 each if they could get their hands on prestigious silverware.

After delivering their side of the bargain their boss has duly paid up, sparking huge celebrations for the 150 staff at OneCom.

The bonus came after the communications provider was named Vodafone’s Platinum Partner of the Year for the fourth year running.

Chief executive Darren Ridge had guaranteed 150 of his staff £1,000 each if the company won.

The lucky employees work in customer services, human resources, finances and marketing, and the majority work at the firm’s headquarters in Whiteley.

OneCom, based at Solent Business Park, is the UK’s biggest independent business-to-business mobile phone provider and handles more than 225,000 mobile phone connections for companies across the UK.

To get Vodafone Platinum status, companies must have excellent customer service, demonstrate a high level of product knowledge throughout the company and have the best revenue performance in the past 12 months.

Mr Ridge said that it was good to be able to reward staff who do not get commission because keeping customers happy is just as important as sales.

He has had numerous emails from staff telling him what they will spend their money on.

“Our staff work incredibly hard to achieve this and I’m pleased to honour my promise,” he said.

“It’s actually a prestigious award and helps us as we’re talking to customers.”

Kimberley Pinder, 24, from Gosport, a corporate account manager at OneCom, has used the money to upgrade her holiday in Dubai, where she will meet her boyfriend Sam Smith, who is serving in the Royal Navy on a six-month deployment.

“Everyone’s very excited,” she said.

“We wanted to win it anyway, but the bonus has definitely brought up everyone’s spirits.”

It comes after OneCom celebrated its best six months of business ever, signing up 25,000 new connections worth £20m.

The rapidly growing firm only came into being last July as the result of a merger of Whiteley’s Premier Telecom and Business Phones Direct.

It has offices across the UK, including Southampton, Brighton, Leeds and Edinburgh, and employs about 400 people.