Indicators that the Metropolis’s authorized wage race could also be cooling have emerged with magic circle agency Allen & Overy asserting it won’t elevate newly-qualified pay for now and rival Linklaters telling employees it won’t ‘rush’ into matching others’ charges.
Allen & Overy stated it has determined to not enhance NQ pay – presently £107,500 after it was upped final 12 months – ‘presently’. ‘This can be a prudent resolution primarily based on plenty of elements, together with the more difficult enterprise atmosphere,’ a spokesperson for the agency stated. ‘We’ll preserve the state of affairs underneath assessment.’
Linklaters stated it does ‘not consider that the correct plan of action is to hurry into matching salaries at NQ stage with out correctly contemplating the influence of any modifications and the broader financial context’.
The agency, which additionally pays its NQs £107,500 plus a performance-related bonus, stated it believed that ‘a considerably larger proportion of our eligible attorneys obtained a bonus final 12 months in comparison with most of our rivals’, in an electronic mail to employees which was reported by Authorized Cheek.
Nevertheless, worldwide agency Herbert Smith Freehills bucked the pattern and introduced it’s growing its NQ salaries by 14% to £120,000 plus bonus, efficient from this month.
‘There may be intense competitors for expertise within the worldwide authorized sector and, in-line with different main corporations, we now have taken steps to make sure remuneration for our associates stays aggressive in our markets,’ a spokesperson for the agency stated. ‘We’re investing throughout all our affiliate bands this 12 months, making certain excessive efficiency is recognised at each stage.’
