Olswang freezes NQ salaries; other assistants see raises

Olswang has frozen salaries for its newly qualified solicitors (NQs), but upped those for its more senior assistants.

NQ salaries will remain at £62,000, while assistants who have been at the firm for longer will receive raises of between 1.1 to 4 per cent.

Two and three-year post qualification experience solicitors are the biggest winners, and will receive pay rises of 4 per cent and 3.7 per respectively. Two-year PQEs now earn £75,000, and three-year PQEs are on £81,000.

One-year PQE’s salaries were raised by 1.5 per cent to £66,000.

Four-year PQEs salaries went up by 2.4 per cent to £85,000, and five-year PQE salaries increased by 1.1 per cent to £89,000.

Six-year PQE pay stayed unchanged at £92,000.

Summary of Olswang’s increases:

NQ - £62,000 (no change)
PQE 1 - £66,000 (1.5% increase)
PQE 2 - £75,000 (4% increase)
PQE 3 - £81,000 (3.7% increase)
PQE 4 - £85,000 (2.4% increase)
PQE 5 - £89,000 (1.1% increase)
PQE 6 - £92,000 (no change)

Trainee solicitor salaries will be reviewed later in the year.