One in three trainee solicitors paid below recommended minimum salary

One-third of trainee solicitors are being underpaid by their firms despite the Law Society recommending a minimum salary.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority scrapped the obligatory minimum salary in August 2014.

In November, the Law Society Recommended a minimum salary of £20,276 in London and £18,183 outside of the capital.

However, research from legal recruiter Douglas Scott has found that 31 per cent of trainees are now being paid below these thresholds.

Remarkably, more than half (51 per cent) of trainees in the North West of England are being paid below the recommended salary while only 12 per cent are below the threshold in the South West.

In London, one in five London based trainees are paid below the recommended salary.

The research also showed that only 2 per cent of trainee solicitors are being paid on or around the UK minimum wage. This is despite 10 per cent of London trainees being paid below the living wage and 20 per cent across the rest of the country.

Douglas Scott Director Jonathan Nolan commented: 'Budgetary pressures born of the ongoing liberalisation of the legal services market and economic uncertainty mean that law firms are engaged in a balancing act - they want to create opportunity but at a price they are comfortable with.

'And in many cases we could just be looking at a housekeeping exercise - our data suggests that the vast majority of firms are respecting the [old] August 2014 mandatory minimum.'