Average salaries for trainees have dropped since the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) abandoned the minimum trainee salary in 2014.
Pay dropped on average by £560 per year, mainly due to a drop in the salary of the lowest earning trainees, according to SRA analysis of data on the 33,000 trainee solicitors between 2011 and 2016.
However, the reduction in salary coincided with a growth in the number of training contracts offered. It is not clear from the research whether the removal of the minimum salary contributed to this or had no effect at all. Three-quarters of trainees and 82% of firms thought the change had no impact.
Paul Philip, SRA Chief Executive said: ‘It is encouraging that the number of trainees continues to grow and that they are more positive about their futures.’
