Earmarks £550,000
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has a joined a raft of leading UK law firms in providing staff with one-off payments to help with the rising cost of living.
The regulator has earmarked up to £550,000 to support staff in the wake of soaring fuel and food prices across the country, according to newly-published minutes of last month’s SRA board meeting.
It said: “It was agreed that it would be appropriate to use part of the forecast surplus to support staff at this time, in particular the lower-paid staff within the organisation, whilst recognising this would delay the building of reserves to within our desired reserves range.”
The regulator’s one-off payments follow similar moves by the likes of Bird & Bird and Irwin Mitchell, with the former providing a payment of £1,000 to trainees and staff earning £50,000 or less, and the latter dishing out a bonus £900 in response to “the challenging external circumstances affecting the cost of living”. Elsewhere, Clifford Chance handed a one-off payment of £1,500 in July to its trainee lawyers and business service staff.
Firms are also helping future trainees too, with the likes of White & Case and Baker McKenzie upping law school maintenance grants in response to the rising cost of living.
