JENNY Gilruth has urged businesses in her Mid Fife & Glenrothes constituency to sign up to the Scottish Living Wage – as the number of accredited Living Wage employers in Scotland hits 900.

The Scottish Living Wage is independently calculated based on the cost of living – with the real Living Wage currently at £8.45, above the minimum wage of £7.50 for workers aged over 25.

There are currently 37 accredited Living Wage employers in Fife. On Friday September 1, Diageo became Scotland’s 900th Living Wage employer, which will

see employees at both its Leven and Clackmannanshire sites paid the full living wage.

Diageo has gone further than the terms of accreditation by also ensuring all apprentices across the UK are paid above the living wage rate.

The achievement was acknowledged by Kinglassie MSP, Ms Gilruth with a motion to the Scottish Parliament.

She is now writing to employers in Mid Fife & Glenrothes encouraging them to also explore the benefits of accreditation, with research showing paying the real Living Wage leads to a fall in absenteeism and a significant impact on recruitment and staff retention.

Commenting, Jenny Gilruth MSP said: “The real Living Wage can make a huge difference to both workers and employers.

“For business, paying the Living Wage makes sense - it’s an investment in people and all the evidence shows it leads to increased productivity and reduced staff absence and increased turnover."

She added: “Around 20 per cent of Scotland’s workforce earns less than the real Living Wage.

"With low pay one of the main drivers of in-work poverty, it’s vital that employers who can pay the real Living Wage do so. I would strongly encourage all employers in my constituency to look into the real benefits of becoming an accredited Living Wage employer.”