News update 8 July 2010
Tax on the profession likely to fall
The Law Society Council is being asked to collect nearly £124 million from solicitors in the next year in practising fees and Compensation Fund contributions – a 13% fall on last year.
Approval of the figures will be sought from the Law Society Council next week.
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/039typical039-pc-fee-set-fall
Insurers may add ‘surcharge’
The Gazette reports that a number of insurers intend to include a ‘surcharge’ in their professional indemnity insurance (PII) premiums this year.
Last month, PII insurer Hiscox, which had a 1.6% market share in 2009/10, said that it will not offer PII in 2010.
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/insurers-planning-professional-indemnity-039surcharge039
Minimum wage review
The SRA will look at all aspects of education and training, including the minimum salary level for trainees, as part of its move to outcomes-focused regulation, reports the Gazette.
A pay freeze is likely. The minimum salary for trainees is £16,650, or £18,590 in London. This normally increases in line with inflation based on the previous calendar year’s retail price index.
In a separate Gazette article Rachel Rothwell comments on whether the time has now come to let the market, not the regulator, decide what trainees should be paid.”
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/sra-considers-scrapping-minimum-trainee-salaries
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/blogs/news-blog/the-time-has-come-scrap-minimum-salary-trainees
SMEs could do more to tackle crippling late payments, says Law Society
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK are overlooking ways to protect against potentially crippling cash-flow problems, warns the Law Society. Further details are available in a TLS Press Release –
http://www.lawsocietymedia.org.uk/site.php?s=1&content=35&press_release_id=1310&mt=34
