Paving supplier Marshalls plc has been accredited as a Living Wage employer.

The accreditation comes from the Living Wage Foundation and means that all employees at the Elland-based company – whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers – receive a minimum hourly wage of £7.65.

That compares with the national minimum wage of £6.50.

The move was announced in the run-up to Living Wage Week, a UK-wide celebration of the Living Wage and Living Wage Employers, which takes place this week.

The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. It is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the Minimum Income Standard for the UK.

Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public,

Established in the 1890s, Marshalls is the UK’s leading manufacturer of superior natural stone and innovative concrete hard landscaping products, supplying the construction, home improvement and landscape markets.

Chris Harrop, Marshalls’ group marketing director said: “As a responsible employer, it was important for us to ensure that every single person in our workforce earns a living wage and we are very proud to be Living Wage accredited. It is quite simply the right thing to do.”

Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis.

The Living Wage enjoys cross party support, with public backing from Prime Minister David Cameron and the Leader of the Opposition, Ed Milliband.

Living Wage Foundation director Rhys Moore said: “We are delighted to welcome Marshalls plc to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer.

“The best employers are voluntarily signing up to pay the Living Wage now. The Living Wage is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.”

Said Mr Moore: “We have accredited over 700 leading employers, ranging from independent printers, hairdressers and breweries, to well-known companies such as Nationwide, Aviva and SSE.

“These businesses recognise that clinging to the national minimum wage is not good for business. Customers expect better than that.”

Marshalls has several sites in the UK, including Brighouse.