Women trainees are paid an average of £779 less per annum than their male colleagues the Trainee Solicitors Group has discovered.

A nationwide survey of 203 trainees and LPC students also found that, for every two men on the minimum salary, there were three women. And 50 per cent of those from ethnic minorities received the minimum salary compared to 26 per cent of trainees as a whole.

More than a quarter of trainee solicitors (26.4 per cent) receive the legal minimum salary of £10,850 or less. The average trainee salary was £14,057, with levels ranging “massively” from £6,510 to £23,000. More than one in three LPC students were working part-time and some full-time. Average debt per student was £4,250.