Labour demands equal wage checks to reduce gender pay gap

Commons debate to tackle the issue of pay inequality in the UK where women earn 81p for every pound earned by men

Britain’s biggest companies should be subject to an annual audit by the equalities watchdog to check which ones are paying women less than men, according to the Labour party.

Gloria de Piero, the shadow equalities minister, will call on Thursday for an “annual equal pay check” to be carried out by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.