Legal Support – What does our salary survey say about you?

At Douglas Scott Legal Recruitment, we don’t just deal with fee earners and solicitors – we also have a dedicated team for support roles. 

Our recent salary survey (still available at https://www.douglas-scott.co.uk/hirers/salary-survey), focused on the legal market throughout the United Kingdom, including some fascinating data on business support roles that we felt is worth sharing. 

Probably the most interesting statistic from our survey is what people feel about their salaries and whether they are being paid at market rates. Most respondents (59%) thought they were being paid on par with the market level, while 33% felt they were being paid below the market rate for their roles. There’s an equal split in terms of people who have had pay rises in their current role, with both polling around 50%. Things were a little more unbalanced when it came to bonuses, with nearly 50% of legal support workers not receiving any bonus, while 20% were still unsure if they were getting a bonus when they were polled. The majority of those who were getting a bonus received the same amount as last year's: 38% were getting the same amount, while 26% received more. Only 14% found their bonus going down, so there's little decrease in the figure for those who are getting a bonus. This is reflected in people’s satisfaction: 89% were either happy with their benefits or are neutral towards them, some of which might be people who aren’t getting a bonus this year at all. 

In terms of general satisfaction, however, people in the Legal Support sector seem happy in their roles. 26% of respondents were very happy with their roles, while 33% were somewhat happy with their jobs. Only 22% of people were either very unhappy or somewhat unhappy, with the remaining 20% feeling neutral in their roles. This is reflected in the market's mood, with 42% of respondents unlikely to change roles in the next six months. However, 30% were likely, which doesn’t quite match the number of those who were unhappy, so it might be that some people who might be happy are still feeling the need to change roles due to other factors. Looking at the top reasons people are moving roles, progression is the main factor for people in this sector leaving their current firm, with 16% citing this as the key reason behind the shift. Interestingly, the second most popular factor, at 12%, was an increase in salary and benefits, which might feed into some of the other numbers we’ve seen above. One thing that came across loud and clear was that when people are moving, they’re receiving a pay rise on the back of it: 59% are receiving one when they move firms. Even for 20% who didn’t get a pay rise, their salaries didn’t drop when moving jobs. 

Overall, the current working environment for support workers looks strong. While support workers can sometimes be under appreciated by firms, they perform a vital function in the success of the business. Understanding the trends being reflected in this market is essential, as they might have wider implications for the legal market. We’ll keep an eye on these trends and share more data on this market in the future.