Extra cash ‘in recognition of the challenging economic climate’
City law firm Simmons & Simmons is handing staff a one-off £1,500 cost-of-living bonus.
The sum will be dished out to all staff earning less than £50,000 a year, regardless of whether they work full-time or part-time as a contractor “in recognition of the challenging economic climate”. The bonus payments are due to be made this month.
Whilst first-year trainees are eligible for the bonus, second-year rookies just miss out, the firm confirmed. The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2023 shows that Simmons’ trainees start on a base salary of £50k rising to £55k in their second year and £105k on qualification.
Simmons isn’t the first firm to support staff in response to the rising cost of living. Bird & Bird handed staff earning less than £50k a £1,000 bonus in July, which included its rookies who take home £45,000 in their first year and £50,000 in their second year, whilst Irwin Mitchell provided a bonus of £900 to the majority of employees, up to and including senior associates.
July also saw Clifford Chance dish out a one-off payment of £1,500 to its trainee lawyers and business service staff.
Express Solicitors has also taken steps, awarding a bonus payment equivalent to one week’s salary. This means, the firm confirmed to Legal Cheek in September, that staff earning £20,000 would receive a post-tax bonus payment of £337, while those earning £50,000 would bag £772.
