Senior government lawyers offered 16% pay rise

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Leaked data reveals that top government lawyers have been offered an average 16% pay increase but a third of the Government Legal Department’s (GDL) workforce have been excluded from the deal.  

The enhanced pay offer, which will see grade 6 and 7 lawyers’ pay increase by 8% from 2023-24 and again in 2024-25, is now under review by civil service unions. This revised salary offer was announced after only 9% of employees within the GDL said they were happy with their salaries and staff benefits.  

Figures leaked from the 2022 Civil Service People Survey also revealed that 30% of GDL lawyers were considering quitting over poor pay.  

It's understood that the proposed pay rise will allow the government to retain “the legal talent it needs”; however, a senior GDL lawyer told RollOnFriday that the problem remains that “the treasury have excluded the lowest paid from this pay award”. The lawyer added: “I feel absolutely appalled for the lowest paid members of staff in the organisation. The lowest paid have been totally shafted.” 

Lower grade lawyers and non-legal staff make up over a third of GDL’s workforce but will only receive the civil service’s standard 3% pay rise.  

An internal email from GDL’s Permanent Secretary Susanna McGibbon said the pay offer for senior lawyers was a "positive achievement", but that she was sorry her aims to secure “significant improvements for all colleagues” had been unsuccessful. She added: “The executive team and I know how disappointing this will be to many of you and we share that disappointment.”