Trainees at DLA Piper have lambasted the firm for a change in policy which means that regional trainees are paid less than London trainees when sent on international secondment.
Before July this year, the firm's policy was that all UK trainees who went on international secondment were paid the London trainee wage. Pay was therefore uplifted for those from the regions going on secondment. A DLA trainee told RollOnFriday that this was "considered necessary" as working in the overseas offices could be difficult for those still paying mortgages back in the UK if they didn't get the uplift.
However, DLA's grad rec team has now announced to trainees that there is no more uplift. A disgruntled DLA trainee said this "flies directly against the DLA 'One UK' policy". And RollOnFriday has been told by an insider at a similar sized law firm that all of its trainees, City or regional, are paid the same wage when they work on an international secondment.
It is not known whether those individuals from regional offices who were sold the expat life in DLA's offices such as Dubai, New York, Singapore or Hong Kong will now be considering whether to supplement their lifestyle by becoming crack mules on the side to survive.
A DLA spokeswoman confirmed to RollOnFriday that the change in policy was due to a new international programme being implemented by the firm. However, she added that all trainees sent abroad receive a number of benefits including travel and baggage costs for relocation, serviced accommodation withing walking distance to the office, medical insurance and a tax-free daily allowance.
And one of the disgruntled trainees who was upset at the new policy did accept that the secondments provide "a fantastic opportunity" to work in "great overseas offices" adding that perhaps the complaint "may seem petty in the grand scheme of things".
Tip Off ROF
Before July this year, the firm's policy was that all UK trainees who went on international secondment were paid the London trainee wage. Pay was therefore uplifted for those from the regions going on secondment. A DLA trainee told RollOnFriday that this was "considered necessary" as working in the overseas offices could be difficult for those still paying mortgages back in the UK if they didn't get the uplift.
However, DLA's grad rec team has now announced to trainees that there is no more uplift. A disgruntled DLA trainee said this "flies directly against the DLA 'One UK' policy". And RollOnFriday has been told by an insider at a similar sized law firm that all of its trainees, City or regional, are paid the same wage when they work on an international secondment.
It is not known whether those individuals from regional offices who were sold the expat life in DLA's offices such as Dubai, New York, Singapore or Hong Kong will now be considering whether to supplement their lifestyle by becoming crack mules on the side to survive.
The regional trainee was absolutely fine with his City peer adding a bottle of Petrus to the order |
A DLA spokeswoman confirmed to RollOnFriday that the change in policy was due to a new international programme being implemented by the firm. However, she added that all trainees sent abroad receive a number of benefits including travel and baggage costs for relocation, serviced accommodation withing walking distance to the office, medical insurance and a tax-free daily allowance.
And one of the disgruntled trainees who was upset at the new policy did accept that the secondments provide "a fantastic opportunity" to work in "great overseas offices" adding that perhaps the complaint "may seem petty in the grand scheme of things".
Comments
Those lucky enough to escape the provinces should be grateful and willing to pay for the opportunity, despite not actually having to pay anything at all.
The gift was "justified", apparently, by the fact that "working in the overseas offices could be difficult for those still paying mortgages back in the UK": All this when City trainees will not be able to afford a mortgage up to 3/4 PQE.
It is really hard for me to see where the firm is wrong here.
Bit of a North/South divide.
The problem with what DLA has done is in the messaging. You need to steer changes in this sort of thing carefully and be clear that people understand what is going on - as it impacts them.
Chippy much? Nice line of (a) class snobbery and (b) lack of grip on reality there. By all means though, tell yourself you didn't get a TC at an MC firm because of where you're from if it makes you feel better.
Having two people working side by side doing the same job for different money is a huge recipe for dissatisfaction.
Any justification for paying less to those in the regions ceases to apply when they cease to be working in the regions.
This may be a classic “first world problem” issue, but ultimately we’re on a site for legal professionals so I’m not sure what people were expecting...
I think it’s disingenuous to draw comparisons to pay disparities between lawyers at different firms or even different offices at the same firm. The issue these people have raised is not that they should be paid the same as their London colleagues full stop, and it certainly wouldn’t hold much sway if they were.
The point is that every single one of us would be extremely put out to learn that someone with the same experience, working in the same office and doing the exact same job were receiving towards twice the pay. Anyone who says otherwise is either being disingenuous or purposefully stirring the pot. This is why it is entirely reasonable that most firms equalise the pay trainees receive when they go on secondment from different offices - what is being asked for should not be and generally isn’t even remotely controversial.
I was previously fortunate enough to sit in my firm’s Singapore office during my training contract, and I can say from experience that, like Abu Dhabi or Dubai, it would be difficult to subsist on a regional salary in such an expensive city, and it is flagrantly unfair that one DLA trainee could be socialising with the broader secondee group and using this once in a lifetime opportunity to explore the city and the wider region while another sits at home for lack of funds.