Trainees suffer long hours and insecurity

TRAINEE and newly qualified solicitors are burdened with debt worries and fears they may lose their jobs, according to a report out this week.

The Trainee Solicitors' Group survey based on the responses of 148 solicitors to questionnaires shows 54 per cent are worried about job security and 51 per cent concerned about debt.

Less than half the respondents wanted to stay with the firm where they worked and one in five said they wanted to leave.

When questioned about the quality of their working lives the most common concern was long hours, especially among those in large City firms.

"Respondents seemed resentful of the perceived expectation of employers that they should work most weekends and late at night with little justification," the report says.

Just over half the respondents were satisfied with training but there were "marked levels of dissatisfaction". TSG chair Richard Moorhead, who helped write the report, says he is shocked by the enormity of problems over debt and job