Bar Council furloughs staff and introduces spending cuts
updated on 05 May 2020
The Bar Council has furloughed 20% of its staff and introduced cuts to spending in a bid to support the profession during the coronavirus crisis.
Pay and recruitment freezes have been introduced by the Bar Council and Bar Standards Board (BSB), saving £98,000 across the Bar Council and Resources Group, and £110,000 from the BSB. Temporary 20% pay cuts have been taken voluntarily by both the chairs and vice chairs of the Bar Council and BSB, as well as the chief executive of the Bar Council and the BSB’s director general.
While the BSB revealed that it cannot currently furlough staff, the Bar Council’s representative group (Representation, Policy & Services) has furloughed 20% of its staff (seven out of 35) and implemented cuts to its 2020 activities to reduce spending. The Resources Group, which also serves the BSB, has furloughed 15% of its staff.
Hoping to reduce expenditure and increase access to the Bar, the Bar Council is moving events online, including training courses and the Pupillage Fair.
The Bar Council’s Chief Executive Malcom Cree CBE said: “Right now, our focus is on supporting the profession we represent through this crisis. We have been working flat out to ensure that the vital public service and contribution to society and the economy that the Bar provides is recognised and supported. The scale of the challenge for practitioners and chambers must be addressed.
“As the Bar Council (including the BSB) is funded by the Bar, with fees based on earnings in the previous year, we are anticipating a significant drop in income next year, hence the need to cut costs early so we do not become a greater financial burden on those we are trying to support. Therefore, we have furloughed roles, frozen pay and recruitment and cut back our business plans. We are a very small organisation, which relies heavily on our dedicated staff and some 400 volunteer barristers, and punches well above our weight, but we know that we need to be as lean as possible, especially now.”
