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Tesco has been struck a major blow after it was ordered to disclose details of its workers’ pay as part of an ongoing equal pay dispute.

The supermarket has been told by the Employment Appeal Tribunal that it must hand over key information about the activities, work and pay of its warehouse staff, in a move that has been hailed as a victory by campaigners.

Tesco is currently fighting an equal pay claim that argues that its store workers, who are predominantly women, are being paid up to £3 less per hour than its warehouse and distribution centre workers, who are mostly men.

The claim has been put forward by the Tesco Action Group, which claims thousands of current and former workers could be entitled to back pay worth up to £10,000 each. If the claim is successful Tesco could be forced to pay out more than £2.5bn.

A judge has now upheld a previous order by the Employment Tribunal forcing Tesco to hand over details of its staff’s pay.

The tribunal also denied Tesco permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Christine Sepahi worked for Tesco for over 25 years and sits on the Tesco Action Group committee. She said: “We are hugely encouraged by this latest development in our long running battle for equal pay.

"In the week that Tesco announced it delivered an incredible £1bn of extra sales over the Christmas period, with store workers literally putting their lives on the line every day for the supermarket, it is vital that these shameful disparities are exposed and Tesco is fully held to account for its actions.”