Pupil barristers to receive pay rise as minimum pupillage salary is increased
updated on 10 December 2018
The pupil barristers’ minimum salary will increase from September 2019, with some pupils set for a 50% pay rise when the regulation comes into effect.
The Bar Standards Board is raising the minimum pupillage award from £12,000 to £15,728 a year, rising to £18,436 in London. The increase is in line with the pay level recommended by the Living Wage Foundation.
In further good news for pupils, the minimum salary will also increase annually in line with living wage recommendations.
A BSB spokesperson said: "Linking the minimum amount that pupil barristers must be paid to the Living Wage Foundation's recommendations is just one of the changes we are making to make Bar training more accessible, affordable and flexible while maintaining high standards. Two thirds of chambers already ensure that their pupils receive more than the minimum award we are setting, but we will keep the impact under careful review particularly in relation to the number of pupillages available."
Pupil barristers are protected by a mandatory minimum salary rule that chambers have to pay, but this is no longer the case for solicitors after the Solicitors Regulation Authority abolished the trainee minimum salary in 2014.
