Trainee recommended pay to go up from 1 June

Trainee solicitors in Scotland should receive a pay increase from 1 June 2018, under recommendations made by the Law Society of Scotland today (27 April).

The Society’s Council agreed at its meetng today that the recommended remuneration should be £19,000 for those in their first year and £22,000 for second-year trainees, increases of £1,000 and £500 respectively.

The decision to reduce the gap between the two years is due to it having grown through successive percentage increases in recent years.

Around nine out of ten traineeships are paid at or above the Society’s recommended rate. Trainees must be paid at least the national living wage, as set by the Living Wage Foundation.

Society President Graham Matthews said it was also important to narrow the gap between the trainee solicitor recommended rate and starting salaries for graduates in other industries.

He commented: “Trainee solicitors are an integral part of the profession and the traineeship provides a solid foundation of knowledge, skills and experience in preparation for rewarding careers. It is also important that they are fairly rewarded and remunerated for the work they do and there is a real need to narrow the gap between the salaries of trainee solicitors and other high-calibre graduates. Law graduates have a range of career options available to them, and pay rates must remain competitive if we are to attract the best candidates in to the profession.

“Our recommended rate is advisory only, but trainees will no doubt be pleased to know that we have raised the benchmark. We recognise that economic conditions remain difficult for many firms and organisations, and that they are under pressure to control their costs, including salaries. Trainees can offer real long term benefits to the organisations employing them, but unfortunately, some simply cannot afford to take on a trainee solicitor. The only viable option for others is to pay below the recommended rate.”

The number of training contracts registered with the Law Society during the 2016-17 practice year fell by 1% to 543.