Croydon Council has called on the borough's businesses to pay their staff more after becoming an accredited London living wage employer.

The authority, which employs more staff than any other organisation in Croydon, will now pay every worker at least £9.15 an hour.

The move was one of Croydon Labour's key manifesto pledges during its 2014 local election campaign.

All new council contractors will be required to pay the London living wage, while existing contractors will be pressured to raise their staff's salaries within the next two years.

Council leader Tony Newman said: "This was a clear political commitment by our administration, a process we started at one of the first cabinets we held, and it’s fantastic that we have now had confirmation of this.

"However, this is very much the beginning, as it is our ambition to see the London living wage rolled out across every company and organisation in our borough, as we have already seen with employers such as IKEA and Lidl.

"This council will lead by example, and we hope other employers follow us."

The London living wage is £2.65 per hour more than the national minimum wage and was calculated to be the amount people need to cover the basic costs of living.

Rhys Moore, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: "We are delighted to welcome Croydon Council to the living wage movement as an accredited employer.

"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.

"Clinging to the national minimum wage is not good for business. Customers expect better than that."