WOMEN are being paid more than 15 per cent less than men an hour at several companies that have a presence in Oxfordshire, it has been revealed.

The gender pay gaps of 527 companies have been published for the first time as part of new government legislation that requires firms with more than 250 employees to reveal the figures before April.

Women’s fashion chain Phase Eight, which has a branch in Oxford High Street, has the biggest gender pay gap revealed so far.

Mean hourly pay rates for women are 64.8 per cent lower than male colleagues.

The gender pay gap measures the pay discrepancy between men and women irrespective of their job or position and many companies have claimed it does not tell the full story.

Phase Eight said most of its male employees worked at the head office, where pay rates are higher.

Women earn 15 per cent less per hour at betting giant Ladbrokes, which has branches across Oxford, and 33 per cent less at Virgin Money which has a branch in High Street.

Both companies said women are paid equally when in the same role.

Magdalen College School has a gender pay gap of 6.8 per cent whilst women’s hourly rate at the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust, which covers 3,500 pupils, is 17.8 per cent lower than male colleagues.

Unilever and Evans Cycles are some of the few companies to have revealed a pay gap in favour of women with female staff paid 8.8 per cent higher at Unilever and 6.5 per cent at Evans.