Katie Harris: Deregulation of the minimum wage for trainee solicitors

A compulsory minimum salary for trainee solicitors (currently £18 590 in Central London and £16 650 outside of London) has been prescribed by the Law Society and now the SRA since 1982. The SRA now proposes in its recent consultation paper to abolish this minimum salary for trainees the reason being that such regulation is now deemed "out of step" with the SRA's strategy of regulating only to "encourage an independent strong diverse and effective legal profession" (Legal Services Act 2007) and protect the public interest.

The effect of this deregulation will be that the only protection offered to trainee solicitors will be by the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999. Trainees will be classed as "apprentices" for the purposes of this legislation and therefore entitled to a minimum of only £2.60 per hour in their first year rising to £6.08 per hour in subsequent years. The SRA argues that for a large number of trainees (who enter into their first year on a salary of c.£38k) it is the market rate sector or...

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