A CORSHAM cleaning company has pledged to pay its employees £8.25 per hour by the time the government introduces the new Living Wage this April.

Daren Vaughan, managing director of Direct Cleaning Services, decided to pay his 380 cleaners more than the expected living wage as a result of competition from big supermarkets like Sainsbury's and Tesco, who currently pay higher rates.

The Leafield industrial estate-based company is the largest private employer in Corsham and provides cleaning services and supplies to the public sector and private businesses.

Mr Vaughan said: “As of April 1, we are going to pay a wage of £8.25 an hour to get ahead of the game. We thought we were going to face problems in future years as we see that others like Sainsbury’s are offering more than the living wage.

“We just thought that we should do the right thing. It would look bad if we did not introduce the living wage as we do a lot of jobs, such as 73 primary schools throughout Wiltshire, so we wanted to be seen as ahead of the game.

“We are the biggest private employer in Corsham and this increase will be until it is reviewed again in April 2017.

“We are, however, going to have to pass this cost on to our clients and we have accepted that we may lose money through this initiative.”

One of the cleaners, Laurence Perry, 52, said: “That is amazing. It is a good company to work for and I have worked for other cleaning companies before and they were the opposite.

“I have just taken on my two children and I was doing quite a few hours. It has been brilliant working for them. It is great to be appreciated by your boss and he is good because he is always helpful with all the staff.

“If you ever need to drop some hours or take a few more on he is always willing to accommodate you. With my kids and now that I am on my own every little bit helps.”

The Living Wage, introduced by Government, means that from April, all workers aged 25 and over are legally entitled to be paid at least £7.20 per hour.