Small and medium-sized firms are being advised to examine their pay systems to make sure they comply with equal pay laws.

As part of a drive to increase transparency around pay in the workplace, the Human Rights Commission and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) have jointly published a guide to help employers examine their systems effectively.

"Businesses want to pay people fairly for the job that they do. This guidance should help smaller businesses analyse any pay gap and make any changes required by law," said Director general of the BCC, David Frost.

"Taking action now to make pay systems transparent and fair should help businesses recruit the best talent to enable the private sector to drive economic recovery."

Despite it being forty years since the Equal Pay Act recent research showed that women who work full time are still paid on average 16.4% less per hour than men.