Trainees in Scotland are set to receive higher salaries after the Law Society of Scotland agreed to increase their recommended pay for the first time in two years.

From June the recommended rate for trainee salaries will rise by 3% to £16,700 in the first year and £20,000 in the second year. The rate had remained unchanged since 2012.

The recommended rate is not compulsory but all employers must pay trainees at least the national minimum wage. In England and Wales the minimum salary for trainees comes to an end in August following a 2012 decision by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It stood at £18,590 in London and £16,650 elsewhere.