All traineeships must be paid. It is up to the individual employers to set their own salaries for trainees, however, there are minimum requirements that must be complied with in order for a training contract to be registered.
From June 2021, the recommended rates for trainee salaries will be:
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£19,500 for first-year trainees
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£22,500 for second-year trainees
The recommended rates have been held at the same level as the past two years, in light of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Society’s recommended rate is not compulsory and it is for individual law firms or in-house employers to decide how much they pay trainee solicitors. The recommended rate is often used as a benchmark for employers, with more than 95% of trainees currently paid at or above the recommended level.
The Law Society's Council agreed that, from April 2016, only trainee contracts that are at or above the Living Wage, as set by the Living Wage Foundation, will be accepted.
The decisions followed over a year of research into trainee remuneration including a survey of 650 solicitors, student and trainees on the recommended rate. Over 70% of respondents supported moving the lowest salary the Society would accept to at least the Living Wage.
"We need to strike the right balance when setting the recommended rate for trainee salaries. Trainees are the future of our profession and we want them to be paid properly for the work they do. However we know that while there has been an improvement in the economy, which has undoubtedly contributed to the increased number of traineeships on offer, employers continue to have to control their costs, including salaries. The reality is that today's law graduates have more choice than ever before in terms of what kind of career they want to pursue. Around half choose not to join the solicitors' profession and new roles, such as legal analyst positions, offer an alternative and attractive career path in law. We need to do what we can to ensure that we continue to attract high calibre individuals to the profession, which includes maintaining competitive pay rates. It remains the case that some law firms simply cannot afford to take on a trainee. It is a problem acutely felt in the legal aid sector where cuts to budgets and reduced rates of pay have left margins so tight that paying the recommended rate is often not feasible. For these firms the decision to take on a trainee is a difficult one and paying a salary below the recommended rate may be the only viable option. This underlines the need for us to continue to press, in the public interest, for an appropriately funded system of legal aid to help encourage new solicitors to enter this branch of the legal profession and to assist employers working in this area to offer employment opportunities."
If you're an employer in Glasgow or looking for a traineeship, be aware that the Glasgow Guarantee is a source of funding available to Glaswegian residents to assist young people into employment. The fund can be accessed to assist in the remuneration of trainee solicitors. Find out more information on Glasgow City Council's website.
