Have your say on pay: judges invited to contribute to call for evidence

Judges have been asked for their say on the extent to which pay is hindering recruitment and making the bench less attractive.

The Senior Salaries Review Body, the government’s independent adviser on judicial pay, was asked by then lord chancellor Shabana Mahmood last December to conduct a major review of the more fundamental issues affecting judicial pay structures.

The SSRB has been tasked with recommending a range of flexible pay options to address current recruitment issues, assess the extent to which pay is a factor in the attractiveness of judicial office, and whether the evidence supports fee-paid and salaried judges being paid differently.

The SSRB has now issued a call for evidence questionnaire and said, in a letter to the chief justices of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, and Lord President of the Court of Session, that it is ‘especially eager’ to receive individual responses from fee-paid and salaried judges. The questionnaire is also open to lawyers and members of the public. Judicial associations can respond, but they will be given a slightly different chain of questions and will also be invited next month to submit written evidence.

In May, the lord chancellor announced that judges would get a 4% pay rise, rejecting the 4.75% recommended by the SSRB to address recruitment shortfalls and morale. In the previous two pay rounds, judges received 7% and 6%, which met the SSRB’s recommendations in full. Overall judicial remuneration for 2024/25 added up to £778m.

The call for evidence questionnaire closes on 30 January. The SSRB will report back by November 2026.