In its 48th annual report on senior salaries, published last week, the Board highlighted that growth in private practice earnings in recent years ‘has diminished the financial incentive to join the salaried judiciary’. Pressure was most acute in London and the South East. It suggested a 3.8% salary rise, but noted its recommendation for a 4.75% salary increase last year was rejected in favour of a 4% rise.
The Board pointed out a ‘declining trend in the assessed quality of judicial appointments for all roles below the High Court’, with fewer candidates graded ‘outstanding’ (A) or ‘strong’ (B) in the appointments process. While noting there is no recorded link between assessed quality on selection day and performance once in office, it described the reduced grades as ‘of serious concern’ and ‘a warning sign that the talent pipeline to senior judicial office is at risk of erosion’.
Bullying, harassment and discrimination—disproportionately experienced by women and judges from minority ethnic groupsThe Senior Salaries Review Board has recommended a pay rise for judges while expressing concern about the quality of applicants, and judicial morale and physical safety—as well as staffing shortages, high workloads, poor working conditions and lack of administrative support were contributors to low morale.
Security concerns have also intensified, with a ‘marked rise in fears around personal security both inside and outside court’, the Board found.
‘We heard that judges in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal face particularly severe and persistent threats,’ the report stated.
‘In addition to threats made online, members of the senior judiciary noted in oral evidence the real risk that such threats escalate into physical confrontations. They commented that if Circuit Judges start to hear trials alone (without juries), there will need to be enhanced security for judges both inside and outside court.’
