Trainee salaries

All traineeships must be paid. It is up to individual employers to set their own salaries for trainees, however, there are minimum salary requirements that must be complied with in order for a training contract to be accepted by the Law Society for registration.

From 1 June 2024, the recommended rates for trainee salaries will be:

• £23,675 for first-year trainees

• £27,480 for second-year trainees

The recommended rates set by the Law Society are intended as a benchmark for employers but are not compulsory. It is for individual employers to decide how much they pay their trainees, subject to the minimum salary requirements noted below.

More than 95% of trainees who started their traineeships in the past year are being paid at or above the recommended rate.

The Society will not accept training contracts that purport to pay less than the Living Wage (outside of London rate), as set by the Living Wage Foundation.

Law Society of Scotland President Sheila Webster said: “We carefully review our recommended trainee pay every year, in recognition of its importance both to trainee solicitors and their employers. They are the future of our profession and must be supported and appropriately rewarded.

“Our review considers how best to support the wider legal sector as well as trainees, balancing living costs and competitiveness in the wider employment market with the financial and wider pressures that employers must navigate.

“The increases we have approved reflect the ongoing challenges of inflation. Wages growth and cost-of-living pressures remain considerable, despite easing from last year, and we know that lower income workers are disproportionately impacted from this situation.

“Equally, we know that rates of pay must also be sustainable for the firms employing trainees, including those in areas such as legal aid that are continuing to face significant challenges. That’s why these pay rates also remain recommendations rather than mandatory.”