FOR the past 20 years, loyal staff at a hair salon have been rewarded annually for their hard work with a barbecue in the boss’s garden.

But this year, Nick and his wife Julie Talbot, along with business partner Maggie Wicks, decided that a banger and a burger were not enough for their staff at Junction Hair and Beauty Salon, in Corn Street, Witney.

Instead, they will fly their 20 employees to Spain for a Mediterranean knees up.

They will spend £3,000 on the two-night trip and workers think it has made the hard work worthwhile.

Mr Talbot, 49, said: “The town is in a desperate state, but Junction has grown through the recession.

“We decided it was an appropriate way to thank all of the people working for us for doing as well as they have done in such tough trading times.”

The salon has been running in Witney for 26 years.

Each summer, Mr and Mrs Talbot entertain their staff with a barbecue in the garden of their home in Black Bourton.

But on Sunday, September 4, to Tuesday, September 7, all of the salon’s staff are invited to stay at the couple’s four-bedroom villa, in La Romana, on the Costa Blanca, in Spain.

They will be treated to a Mediterranean barbecue and can splash in the villa’s pool, before returning to work on Wednesday, September 8.

Steph Lay has worked for Junction for the past six years, after being trained by the salon when she left Barth-olomew School, in Eynsham.

She said: “I think it is absolutely amazing. Really, really good. We are so looking forward to it, it is fantastic.

“All my friends can’t believe it, they say I am so lucky.”

Mr Talbot, who has owned the business for 20 years, said: “We are in a rather unique situation where every member of staff bar one, has worked for us for 10 years or have started straight out of school and we have trained them.”

He added: “We have got a villa in Spain which will entertain quite a lot of people and we thought it was a good idea to invite our staff.

“We booked it about three months ago and we know all of these girls very well as they have all been with us for a long time.

“They are very behind the business and support it and are a very close group. They all socialise outside of work.

“They are all extremely excited about it, the expression going around the salon is they are all enjoying summer but are wishing it away as they are looking forward to going to Spain so much.”