Law Society drops recommended minimum trainee salary

Supports real living wage instead

The Law Society has moved away from its annual recommended minimum salary for trainee solicitors, instead suggesting firms consider paying trainees at least the ‘real living wage’.

Until now, the solicitors’ body had published a fresh recommended minimum each summer, with the most recent rates set at £28,090 in London and £24,916 elsewhere in England and Wales.

The previous figures were guidance rather than a legal requirement, following the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) decision to scrap the statutory minimum salary for trainee solicitors in 2014. The new approach is similarly non-binding, with firms encouraged, but not required, to pay at least the real living wage to those completing training contracts or qualifying work experience (QWE).

The real living wage, which is set by the Living Wage Foundation based on the cost of living, currently stands at £14.80 an hour in London and £13.45 elsewhere in the UK. Based on a 37.5-hour working week, that works out at around £28,860 a year in the capital and £26,228 outside London. For comparison, that is around £770 more a year in London and £1,300 more elsewhere than the Law Society’s previous recommended rates.

A Law Society spokesperson told Legal Cheek:

“Ahead of updating our position on recommended minimum salary, we carefully considered a range of options and engaged with members at all career stages, including junior lawyers. We consider this approach to be proportionate and appropriate at this time and will continue to review it in future years to ensure it remains relevant.” 

They added: “It is important to underline that this is not a regulatory requirement, but rather a proposal to support good practice across the profession.”

The spokesperson also directed Legal Cheek to the Law Society’s updated policy. In it, the Law Society says salary levels for those undertaking QWE should recognise the education and training they have already completed, adding that paying the real living wage could have a positive impact on equality and diversity across the profession.

Yet, while salaries at the top end of the profession continue to soar, with some City trainees earning more than £140,000 over the course of their two-year training contracts and as much as £180,000 upon qualification, many aspiring solicitors, particularly those working in legal aid or high street firms, continue to earn below the recommended minimums.