How much the council pays people from different ethnic backgrounds will be revealed in a bid to boost equality.

Barnet Council has pledged to carry out an ethnicity pay gap audit that will help it to tackle any unfairness in its wage structure.

It comes after a similar audit of the council’s gender pay gap revealed women are paid on average five per cent more than men per hour.

Organisations have come under increasing pressure to carry out ethnicity pay gap audits after a 2017 Government report revealed big differences in pay between workers from different backgrounds.

The Race Disparity Audit showed ethnic minorities are under-represented at senior levels in public-sector bodies such as the police and health service.

Prime Minister Theresa May last year announced that organisations could be forced to publish ethnicity pay gap audits.

Only three per cent of employers currently publish this data, according to The Equality and Human Rights Commission.

A Barnet Council spokesman said: “Like other public bodies with more the 250 employees, the council reports its gender pay gap on an annual basis. The latest report shows the mean hourly rate for women was five per cent higher than that for men.

“We are currently compiling data for the 2018 report, which must be published by March 31 this year.

“Although there is no legal requirement to do so, as part of our commitment to equality, the council has also chosen to voluntarily report on the ethnicity pay gap.

“This report will be published on the council’s intranet and will be used to inform the council’s future equality plans.”

Labour member for East Finchley Cllr Arjun Mittra, who asked the council’s chief executive to carry out an ethnicity pay gap audit, welcomed the move.

He said: “This is excellent news. I welcome an ethnicity pay gap audit as an important tool to ensuring the council is representative of our diverse community, and that management positions are open to all members of our community.

“The gender pay gap audit found that women were paid on average five per cent more than men, which shows that the council has talented and capable officers who are female.

“We also need to be sure that our talented and capable ethnically diverse officers are also making progress within the organisation.”