Britain said on Sunday it will go further in its attempts to tackle the gender pay gap by forcing large firms to publish details about the bonuses given to men and women.

In July, Prime Minister David Cameron said big companies would be required to divulge information on how much they pay men compared to women and began a consultation, which ended last month, on how to design the new regulations.

On Sunday, the government said that the biggest employers would now also have to reveal information about bonuses and that the public sector should also reveal the levels of pay received by its male and female staff.

On average, a woman in Britain earns 0.8 pounds for every one pound earned by a man, according to recent official data

"It should appal us all that ... we still don’t have gender equality in every aspect of our society," Minister for Women and Equalities Nicky Morgan said.

But the CBI, a leading British employers group, said that while eradicating the difference in pay was important, blanket rules might not be the best solution.

"To be truly effective, gender pay gap reporting must be relevant to each company rather than a box-ticking exercise," a spokesman said.