Candidates wrongly told they failed the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) should get their £250 ‘goodwill payment’ shortly, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said yesterday. The regulator stressed that the £250 is not in lieu of compensation.

An error in the way the results were calculated saw 175 of the 6,626 candidates who sat SQE1 in January wrongly told they failed one of the two ‘functioning legal knowledge’ assessments. Candidates must pass both assessments to move on to SQE2.

Exam results

Source: Thinkstock

The SRA said 'the majority' of the 175 candidates have submitted claims for the £250 and Kaplan has sent follow-up communications to those who have yet to provide their bank details.

The SRA stressed that the £250 is not designed to cover candidates’ losses and candidates should email Kaplan at SQE1Jan24@kaplan.co.uk to explain any losses incurred.

An SRA spokesperson said: 'Kaplan have proactively contacted all 175 candidates who were wrongly told they had failed, and are working with them to understand their individual circumstances so Kaplan can put things right as much as possible, including by compensating for any losses.

‘We recognise the distress and challenges this issue may have caused. In addition to the £250 goodwill payments, Kaplan are compensating candidates for any losses resulting directly from the error. They are asking candidates to get in touch and explain any losses incurred, so that Kaplan can deal with any compensation issues as quickly as possible. Kaplan are also working with candidates to consider the most appropriate next steps to enable them to progress toward sitting SQE2 assessments.'

The SRA said Kaplan is working with candidates who have come forward to report that their training contract offer was affected ‘to agree appropriate compensation’.

Some of the 22 candidates who initially registered to sit SQE2 in April have decided to sit the exam on the dates originally advertised. Their exam fee has been waived. If they fail, their attempt will not be counted as one of the three attempts permitted under the assessment regulations.

Those who felt unable to sit the April exam will have their SQE2 first attempt fee waived up to and including the April 2025 sitting. The candidates will be guaranteed their choice of date and location when they book the exam. Other candidates who felt their progression to SQE2 was affected were encouraged to contact Kaplan.