Minimum pupillage awards to rise next month

Avatar photo

By Thomas Connelly on

A little over £19k for baby barristers in London

Minimum pupillage awards across England and Wales will increase next month as part of an annual uplift pegged against recommendations set out by the Living Wage Foundation (LWF).

From January 2022, barrister sets in London will have to pay pupils at least £19,144 in London and £17,152 elsewhere. The move equates to an extra £184 and £551, respectively, with 2021 rates set at £18,960 and £16,601.

The 2022 Legal Cheek Chambers Most List

The yearly rises were first introduced in 2019 and are pegged against salaries endorsed by the LWF, an independent organisation that promotes fair pay across the UK. Prior to the roll-out, the minimum chambers could pay their pupils was £12,000.

The Legal Cheek 2022 Chambers Most List shows that there’s a clear divide at the bar when it comes to pupillage awards. Whilst many criminal sets provide pupil pay close to the regulator-set minimums, major commercial specialists dish out sums of up to £75,000.

Sign up to the Legal Cheek Newsletter

Related Stories

Re-think training and support of junior barristers, says incoming bar chief

WhatsApp groups no substitute for chambers camaraderie

Dec 8 2021 10:58am

Don’t scrap the bar aptitude test, urges Bar Council. Up the pass mark instead

BSB mulls ditching entry exam after report found fewer than 1% of wannabe barristers fail to pass it

Oct 25 2021 9:17am

Competition for pupillage fiercer than ever, Bar Council report finds

Number of applicants chasing each pupillage spot 'steadily increasing' every year

Sep 29 2021 9:23am