Rising numbers of trainee solicitors being paid less than recommended minimum salary

There has been a sharp rise in the number of trainees being paid less than the Law Society’s recommended minimum salary, according to a new survey.

Legal recruitment firm Douglas Scott annually surveys some 500 trainee solicitors about their pay. The Law Gazette reports that the latest survey in 2017 showed that 38% of trainees were earning less than the Law Society’s recommended minimum trainee salary – up 22.5% from the 2016 survey.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) used to set a minimum salary that firms were obliged to pay their trainees, but the regulator decided to scrap the requirement in 2014. Firms are now only obliged to pay trainees the National Minimum Wage and are free to ignore the recommended minimum salary calculated each year by the Law Society, which has been £20,913 in London and £18,547 outside London since 2016. According to the Law Gazette, a third of firms paying trainees below the recommended minimum are high street firms.

The year-on-year increase in the number of trainees who are not being paid a decent salary has prompted concern that the solicitors’ profession could become less attractive to talented graduates. The Junior Lawyers Division has repeated its criticism of the SRA for abolishing the minimum salary in light of the latest findings. Adele Edwin-Lamerton, the JLD’s chair, said: “Sadly these figures show that the JLD was right to be concerned about the abolition of the SRA minimum salary. Overall, trainee pay has reduced year on year. This will prevent aspiring trainees from entering the profession and have a damaging effect on social mobility.”

Kathryn Riley, managing director at Douglas Scott said: “The competition for the best and brightest graduates is tougher than ever before. A career in the legal profession remains highly desirable but failure to meet recommended salaries could mean potential trainees look to other industries in which to build their careers.”