Celtic FC will pay the new living wage of £8.25 to employees at the club.

The club reviewed pay rates affecting an estimated 100 full-time employees and hundreds more non-permanent staff whose wages fell below the new living wage threshold.

Staff had been paid £7.85 per hour but the rate, adjusted by the Living Wage Foundation, was raised by 40p last November.

Details of the agreement, which came into effect in July, have been revealed in the club's annual report.

It comes after the Celtic board faced criticism at last year's AGM for failing to sign up to the living wage standard.

Chairman Ian Bankier said then it was "not in the interests" of Celtic to follow in the footsteps of around 380 Scottish employers including fellow Ladbrokes Premiership club Heart of Midlothian in signing up to the scheme.

Many shareholders called for the club to change their stance with shareholders and fan group the Celtic Trust, supporting a resolution that the board take "all necessary steps" to make Celtic an accredited living wage employer and to provide to shareholders a progress report on this within three months.

Celtic's annual report revealed the club have now agreed to pay staff the £8.25 living wage.

It said: "Celtic remains the only professional football club in Scotland to hold the prestigious Investors in People award and our Celtic Pride employee engagement and culture change initiative continues to be a priority.

"This initiative continues to drive improvements in the areas of employee recognition, reward and development, all underpinning the four key values of Inclusion, Integrity, Inspiration and Innovation.

"Earlier this year, the club made a commitment to again review the minimum hourly rate of permanent staff.

"This commitment was delivered and a minimum rate of at least £8.25/hour was implemented with effect from July 1, 2016, reflecting the prevailing voluntary Living Wage rate."

It came as it emerged the board of directors' overall salary costs rose by 20% in the last year, due largely to a near-£240,000 ill health payment to long-serving former financial chief Eric Riley.

The Parkhead club had previously said it would not sign up to the living wage scheme as it would mean "handing over decision-making on salaries to another agency".

The Celtic Trust said as "progress has been made - small though it is", it will not be bringing a living wage resolution to the forthcoming annual general meeting.

"The lowest paid workers have now been paid more than they would have been without this campaign and we are delighted about that," the trust said.

"We hope you will continue to support us, and that, unless national political developments overtake it, we will soon be able to say that our club is an Accredited Living Wage employer.

"We think Brother Walfrid would have wanted that, don't you?"