Council chiefs have committed to pay staff the new Living Wage five months early in North Ayrshire.

The new rate of £9.30, a rise of 30p per hour, was announced on Monday to mark the start of Living Wage Week.

And although the new Living Wage rate is not due to be adopted by businesses and organisations until April 2020, the council has committed to applying this rate of pay from this week.

North Ayrshire Council Chief Executive Craig Hatton said: “We are very proud to ensure our staff not only get the real living wage but they get it as soon as possible.

“Normally, the new rate doesn’t kick in for quite a few months but if we are serious about reducing inequality and poverty, then we have to lead by example.

“We are North Ayrshire’s largest single employer and we want to be a council which is fair for all – so making sure our lowest-paid workers receive a wage which can help support a decent standard of living is absolutely the right thing to do.”

NAC has paid the Living Wage since 2011 and one of a number of local authorities across Scotland to be officially accredited by the Scottish Living Wage Accreditation Initiative.

The Living Wage is an independently-calculated figure updated annually to reflect the basic cost of living and voluntarily paid by more than 5,000 businesses who believe their staff deserve a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.

The foundation says it has increased productivity, staff retention and reduced sickness absence, and improved morale, motivation and commitment.