Scrapping the minimum trainee solicitor salary has led to pay decreases with BAME, women and state-educated lawyers worst affected

Trainee solicitors’ average pay has decreased since the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) abolished its minimum salary rule, while the change has disproportionately affected BAME lawyers, the trainee gender pay gap has widened and social mobility has reduced, a survey has revealed.

According to the SRA’s impact survey of 33,000 trainees between 2011 and 2016, the scrapping of the requirement for firms to pay a minimum salary has led to an average fall in earnings of £560.

Most of that decrease has been borne by trainees at the lowest-paying 2% of firms. As Legal Futures reports, salaries at the bottom 2% go “up to” £13,104, while the minimum salary was £17,268 when it was scrapped in 2014.

The deregulation has had a disproportionate affect on trainees from BAME backgrounds, who are more likely to work at these firms. Clearly, the profession still has a long way to go before it can truly call itself diverse, or fair in how opportunities are accessed.

The gap in salaries between women and men trainees has also widened, with women now paid £460 a year less than their male counterparts – a figure that has increased by £128 since the minimum salary was abolished.

The survey also showed that state-schooled trainees are less likely to earn high salaries than those who are privately educated. Six in 10 trainees who went to private schools had salaries of over £40,000, while four in 10 trainees who were state educated were paid less than £19,000.

Paul Philip, chief executive of the SRA, commented: “Although the pay gap between different ethnic groups has reduced since the removal of the minimum salary, it is disappointing that the data again highlights that black and Asian solicitors are more likely to work in firms that pay less. We will continue to work with others to increase diversity in all types of firms and at all stages in a solicitor’s career.”