The Living Wage Foundation has announced the new Living Wage rate for the UK at £7.85 per hour, which will see over 35,000 UK workers increase their take home pay.
The rate announcement was made at a Scottish event hosted by SSE – which last year was the largest FTSE 100 company to pay the Living Wage.
John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth, attended the launch alongside Peter Kelly, Director of The Poverty Alliance.
Over 1,000 organisations have now committed to paying their staff and contractors the Living Wage in the UK and 60 of those are based in Scotland.
In the last year organisations in Scotland including Standard Life, RBS and the SECC have all become accredited employers.
This follows in the footsteps of major Scottish employers including SSE which was accredited in 2013. In recognition of their support of the Living Wage, SSE received the Living Wage Champion Award for Scotland.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, Chief Executive of SSE, said: “Just over a year ago we were very proud to become the first energy company to be a Living Wage employer. SSE remains the only energy supplier to guarantee to pay all employees a Living Wage.
“SSE is very proud to receive the Living Wage Champion Award for Scotland. It is a reflection of all the hard work that goes into making sure all our contracts are now Living Wage compliant and reflects our commitment to being a responsible employer.
“It is one of several actions SSE is taking to make a difference including being recently recognised as the first FTSE 100 company to be awarded the Fair Tax Mark.”
John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth in the Scottish Government, said: “Tackling low pay is a key priority of the Scottish Government and we fully support the Living Wage campaign.
“We recognise the real difference the Living Wage makes to the people of Scotland which is why we are the first Scottish Government ever to pay the Living Wage to all employees covered by Pay Policy. The new rate announced this morning of £7.85 will apply from 1 April 2015 as part of 2015-16 pay settlements.
“We are firmly of the view that employers should reward their staff fairly and encourage businesses throughout the country to support the Living Wage campaign. This is why we are funding a pilot by the Poverty Alliance for the next year, to promote take up of the Living Wage accreditation scheme and increase the number of employers paying the Living Wage in all sectors in Scotland.”
Peter Kelly, Director of The Poverty Alliance, said: “The Living Wage in Scotland is now gaining genuine momentum with employers - the number of employers paying it here has tripled from 20 to 60 in the last six months.
"But there is no room for complacency. Low pay and in-work poverty is one of the main causes of child poverty in Scotland, so we need to build on the good work that has already been done.
"Living Wage Week also allows us to recognise the support for the campaign including accredited employers, the Scottish Government and community campaigners who all play their part in ensuring that every worker gets a fair day's pay for a fair day's work."