Trainee solicitors could be paid as little as £2.60 an hour in their first year under an amendment to the Solicitors Regulation Authority's proposals for ending the minimum wage. The Law Society’s Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) today condemned the move as another step towards making the legal profession the ‘preserve of the rich’.

The SRA amended its proposals after receiving advice that trainees would be classed as apprentices within the national minimum wage regulations.

However the JLD said the classification was inappropriate. Heather Iqbal-Rayner, vice chair, said: ‘Apprentice wages are designed for school leavers who are usually living with their parents and about to enter a profession. Solicitor trainees will have completed four, five or even six years of study by the time they begin a training contract and may have children and mortgages, not to mention a mountain of debt from studying.

‘Implementing these changes will deter large numbers of people from entering the profession and have a negative, knock-on impact on equality and diversity.’

Under the proposals, trainees would have to wait for their second year of training before being entitled to the standard minimum wage of £6.08 an hour.

Last week the JLD issued a call for a pause to the consultation.

The SRA said that the apprenticeship issue emerged after due diligence on its consultation document, which included a detailed examination of the legal framework that would apply if current minimum salary requirements were removed.

'Advice has been received that trainees would be classed as apprentices within the terms of the national minimum wage regulations. The regulations would apply a rate of £2.60 per hour for apprentices in their first year, and £6.08 per hour (the standard minimum wage) for subsequent years.’

The SRA stressed that it is keen to canvass views on the potential impact of deregulating the minimum salary, including on the option of keeping a prescribed minimum at the level of the minimum wage for the whole period of a training contract.

'The SRA's concern and that of all stakeholders, is to ensure that the profession continues to attract high-calibre, motivated students from a diverse range of backgrounds.’

The SRA’s consultation runs until April 10 and can be accessed on their site. Results of the consultation will be fed back to the SRA's board when it meets in May.