A Scots restaurant has become the first in the country to become an official Living Wage employer, writes Mary Kate Ross.
The Mussel and Steak Bar in Edinburgh will now pay staff the new Living Wage rate of £8.25 per hour.
The family-run restaurant, which specialises in surf and turf, currently has a staff of 24.
He said: “We feel that in paying the Living Wage our team has been come much more stable and staff turnover has fallen, this in turn has reduced the time and cost of training and frustration and pressure which is placed on the rest of the team while new staff are training being trained.
"We have great morale throughout the team and do not have a problem with absenteeism. We wanted staff to be rewarded fairly for the effort and work they put everyday looking after our customers.”
Skills and Training minister Roseanna Cunningham said the Mussel and Steak Bar becoming the first Living Wage accredited restaurant was "a very positive step for Scotland's hospitality sector".
Poverty Alliance director and chair of the Scottish Living Wage campaign Peter kelly added: “This accreditation, the first restaurant in Scotland, is important because it demonstrates that it is possible to pay the Living Wage in the hospitality sector.
“While there are other accredited employers in the hospitality industry, they make up a small proportion of the 390 plus accredited employers in Scotland.”
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