Minimum trainee salary to improve diversity in solicitor profession
The Law Society believes trainee remuneration rates should be based on living wage and average yearly LPC repayment
Providers of training contracts should pay their trainees a minimum salary to improve equality and diversity within the solicitor profession, according to new recommendations published by the Law Society.
A recommended salary of £20,276 in London and £18,183 outside of the capital is based on a 35 hour week at the living wage - £9.40 per hour in London and £8.25 per hour outside of London - in addition to a figure of £3,168, the average yearly legal practice course (LPC) repayment.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) abolished the regulatory minimum salary for trainees in August 2014 and replaced it with a requirement that firms pay trainees at least the national hourly minimum wage. Before this, law firms were required to pay trainees at least £18,590 if they were based in London, and £16,650 elsewhere.
Research conducted by the Law Society into the potential consequences of scrapping the minimum salary requirement foresaw a negative impact in particular for entrants from less affluent backgrounds, and a disproportionate impact on black, Asian, minority ethnic (BAME) representation in the solicitor profession.
The Law Society’s chief executive, Catherine Dixon, commented: ‘The recommended minimum salary for trainee solicitors will contribute to better equality and diversity within the solicitor profession, enabling and supporting entrants from all backgrounds. Qualifying to be a solicitor should always be on merit. We never want applicants’ backgrounds to be a barrier.’
‘Many firms have developed recruitment policies that promote equality, diversity, and inclusion, and we hope that firms will also adopt the recommended minimum salary for their trainee solicitors,’ she added
Max Harris, chair of the JLD, welcomed the recommendation and considered it ‘a huge step forward for social mobility in the legal profession’.
‘It is of utmost importance that as a profession we ensure access is open to all, regardless of background. By adhering to at least the Law Society's recommended minimum salary, firms will encourage better access,’ he continued.
‘Of course there are sound commercial reasons for social mobility, which many firms and employers around the country recognise. By creating a profession that is open to all, the profession will attract the best calibre of candidates in all areas of practice. Firms, the profession as a whole and consumers of legal services all benefit.’
The JLD expressed concern earlier this year that firms would be able to exploit employees by using them as cheap labour.
Under the Law Society’s recommendations the minimum salary requirement would be reviewed in the November of every year.
Matthew Rogers is an editorial assistant at Solicitors Journal matthew.rogers@solicitorsjournal.co.uk