IKEA has announced plans to pay workers in its Dublin store a 'living wage' of €11.50 per hour.

The pay increase for the 413 workers in its store in Ballymun, Dublin 11 will come into effect on Friday, April 1st.

The Swedish retailer will also introduce proportional wage increase for its 129 team leaders.

It says that these measures are part of an overhaul of its basic working conditions as it looks to ensure that employees receive the right level of pay and an appropriate schedule. Ikea will ensure that all workers in positions that involve dealing directly with customers will be scheduled to have one out of every four weekends off.

The hourly rate of €11.50 was calculated by the Living Wage Technical Group Ireland.

Marsha Smith, Store Manager at Ikea Dublin commented on the new terms, "Implementing the Living Wage is not only the right thing to do for our co-workers but it also makes commercial sense ... It is vital to the ongoing success and sustainability of the business that we retain co-workers as well as attract the top talent in the local marketplace."

"We believe that a team with good compensation and excellent working conditions will continue to provide our customers with a great shopping experience," she continued.

The Swedish retailer Ikea is planning to expand its presence in Ireland having generated record sales and profits at its Dublin outlet last year, as 2.6 million visits were made to its Dublin store.

The company’s latest accounts show that pre-tax profits from the Ballymun store almost doubled to just over €13m last year while sales rose by 17% to €132m. This added to the momentum generated in the previous year when sales rose by 8% and profits jumped by 22%.

A spokesman for Ikea said it was committed to expanding in the Irish market and has been identifying sites for a potential second store in Ireland.

"Ikea are committed to expanding in the Irish market and have been identifying sites in Ireland for a potential second store. However, we have no further plans to confirm at the current time," the company said earlier in this month.