Society recommends 2.45% pay rise for trainees

Trainees and aspiring solicitors doing qualifying work experience should be paid £24,916 outside of London and £28,090 in the capital, the Law Society said today. The recommended rise for 2025/26, in line with inflation, is 2.45% compared with 5.18% last year and 9.98% in 2023/24.

Since the Solicitors Regulation Authority stopped setting mandatory minimum rates in 2014, Chancery Lane has recommended minimum pay rates using the Consumer Price Index’s 12-month rolling inflation rate. This is an average of the previous 12 months’ inflation rates.

Society president Richard Atkinson said: ‘We encourage employers to consider this recommendation, as employers paying the recommended minimum salary for trainee solicitors could have a positive impact on equality and diversity within the legal profession.

‘The policy applies to anyone undertaking a period of recognised training, such as a training contract, or anyone employed with the primary purpose of gaining qualified work experience.’

The minimum salaries will be seen as a drop in the ocean compared with City pay packets. DLA Piper recently announced a pay rise for trainees, with London-based first-year trainees earning £52,000 (rising to £57,000 in the second year) and trainees outside London earning £35,500 in their first year (rising to £39,000 in the second year).