By Eric King-
Judges are to get their biggest pay rise in 10 years in an announcement made today.
The rise is in line with that of other public-sector workers, including doctors and police officers, and follows the annual pay review for 2018/19 by the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB). It will come into effect immediately and be backdated to April 2018.
The Government has also today published the recommendations of a separate major review of judges’ pay by the SSRB. This was commissioned by the Government in October 2016 to take account of wider issues facing the judiciary, including recruitment and retention.
The Ministry of Justice says the rise is in line with that of other public sector workers, including doctors and police officers, following the Senior Salaries Review Body’s 2018/19 annual pay review. However, it falls far below what the SSRB recommends in a supplementary report published today following a government-commissioned review of the judicial salary structure.
New changes to tax and pensions has placed the total net remuneration for a new High Court judge at w £80,000 less than it was 10 years ago. The figure was £49,000 less for a circuit judge, and £29,000 less for a district judge.
The report states that those who join the judiciary are motivated by a challenging job and providing a valuable public service. A shortage of applications for the court’s top judge is one of the factors that sparked the wage rise. Inadequate administrative IT support for judges in the court, on top of workload and inflexible working patterns.
The absence of potential judges from the senior ranks of the legal profession not applying in sufficient numbers has also influenced the decision to increase Judges pay. A policy paper sent to prime minister Theresa May concluded that the judicial role needed to be made more attractive in order to recruit high quality legal professionals as judges.’
Judges play a very important role in society, giving a decisive voice to several matters of dispute. However, conflicting court verdicts on the same issue can sometimes damage faith in the judiciary system. More so when we are dealing with important matters that call for high legal judgment. Judges have different levels of expertise on the law despite their high experience in the field.
Some have retained deeper knowledge in law and know when best to make adjustments from a general principle for a just course.
Lord Chancellor David Gauke said:
Our independent judiciary is the cornerstone of the rule of law, and effective remuneration is critical to the continued attraction and retention of high calibre judges.
I am pleased to announce today a 2% pay increase across the judiciary – the highest in 10 years.
Alongside this, the SSRB has published its findings following a major review of judges’ pay. We will carefully consider the recommendations and respond in due course.
The Lord Chancellor has also announced that the recruitment and retention allowance for High Court Judges will remain in place until the Government has responded to the major review.
The quality and dependability of the judiciary is a critical part of maintaining the UK’s reputation as the leading centre for international dispute resolution, and English law as a pre-eminent choice for contracts.