MORE companies have been urged to pay the living wage in 2015.

Anti poverty campaigners want to see the number of firms who commit to pay the higher rate increase from the current total of 94.

Hundreds of thousands of low paid workers on the Minimum wage cold benefit and have less need to rely on top up benefits if the wage of £7.85 an hour was paid.

The Poverty Alliance will be continuing their campaign next year to ensure more firms sign up.

Currently of the 94 companies three quarters have fewer than 50 workers and almost four in ten have fewer than ten workers.

Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: "We have seen a significant increase in enquiries from employers about Living Wage accreditation since Living Wage Week at the start of November, when we reported that the number of Living Wage Employers in Scotland had tripled to 60.

"Since then, an additional 32 Scottish employers have gone on to become accredited, including Digby Brown law firm, Heart of Midlothian football club and An Clachan Café in Glasgow.

"This is great news, especially for those workers that get a pay rise as a result. It is clear that in-work poverty will remain a real problem for thousands of workers in Scotland in 2015, but if more employers commit to paying the living wage we can begin to make a real impact.

"We are here to help and advise employers who wish to be recognized for paying the living wage. We have been overwhelmed by the response from Scottish employers in the last few weeks and look forward to working with many more in 2015. The living wage is a key way of ensuring that more workers have a prosperous New Year."

Firms with staff in Glasgow have signed up in the last few months to commit to the living wage.

Graham Bell, Managing Director of Glasgow based retailer Guitar, Guitar who also have shops in Edinburgh and Newcastle said:"Our staff are our greatest asset, and the backbone of our company. By moving onto a living wage, we are solidifying our commitment to the well-being of our employees, their families and the future of our local community. It is a move we're very proud of."

Strata Cleaning are the first cleaning firm in Scotland to become Living Wage Employers.

Director, Steven Homer, said: "We made a strategic decision at the formation of the business that it would stand out from the majority of cleaning companies by committing to our staff to adopt the Living Wage threshold for all staff employed by us."

"Within the cleaning sector it is common practice for many staff to be paid at the National Minimum Wage.

"Our many years of experience teaches us that staff who feel they are correctly rewarded will be much more positive and go that extra step in meeting our customer needs. We believe that long term this will be a major business benefit rather than a cost to us".