Apple Inc. said Friday that it has granted chief operating officer Tim Cook a $22 million bonus in cash and stock in recognition of his work done while CEO Steve Jobs was away on medical leave last year.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the iPhone maker said its Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendation by Jobs to award Cook a one-time discretionary bonus of $5,000,000 in addition to 75,000 restricted stock units, according to the Wall Street Journal.

This was in recognition of his outstanding performance in assuming the day-to-day operations of the company when Jobs was on medical leave of absence, the report said.

Half of these stock units will vest on March 10, 2011, with the remaining to vest on the same date the following year, subject to Cook's continued employment with the company, according to the filing. During that time, Cook oversaw the launch of several key products, most notably the iPhone 3GS.

Apple CEO Jobs went on medical leave in January of last year for six months. He underwent a liver transplant to deal with complications that resulted from a previous battle with pancreatic cancer. Jobs returned to work in June.

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