Hiring guide: employment
Hiring an employment solicitor in 2026: salaries, costs and what to look for
By Ben Holtom, founder of Sourcefully. Updated .
The short answer
Outside London, employment solicitors earn around £37,000 to £61,000 at NQ, £49,000 to £82,000 at 4 to 5 PQE and £65,000 to £124,000 at senior level depending on region. London pays £55,000 to £79,000 at NQ and £73,000 to £107,000 at 4 to 5 PQE. A 20% agency fee on a £68,000 employment solicitor is £13,600; a Sourcefully flat fee is £7,500 plus VAT.
Employment lawyers are pulled in two directions: tribunal work and advisory work. The best hires are clear about which they prefer, and the best roles are clear about which they offer. A mismatch here is the most common reason an employment hire leaves within a year.
The figures below cover England and Wales.
Salaries in 2026
Employment solicitors by region
| Region | NQ (0 to 1 PQE) | 4 to 5 PQE | 8 to 15 PQE |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | £55,000 to £79,000 | £73,000 to £107,000 | £96,000 to £161,000 |
| South East | £42,000 to £61,000 | £56,000 to £82,000 | £74,000 to £124,000 |
| South West | £41,000 to £60,000 | £55,000 to £81,000 | £72,000 to £122,000 |
| East of England | £38,000 to £56,000 | £51,000 to £75,000 | £67,000 to £113,000 |
| East Midlands | £38,000 to £56,000 | £51,000 to £75,000 | £67,000 to £113,000 |
| West Midlands | £40,000 to £58,000 | £53,000 to £78,000 | £70,000 to £118,000 |
| North West | £41,000 to £59,000 | £54,000 to £80,000 | £72,000 to £120,000 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £41,000 to £59,000 | £54,000 to £80,000 | £72,000 to £120,000 |
| North East | £37,000 to £54,000 | £49,000 to £72,000 | £65,000 to £109,000 |
| Wales | £37,000 to £54,000 | £49,000 to £72,000 | £65,000 to £109,000 |
Employment support, regional firms
| Role | Typical range 2026 |
|---|---|
| Employment paralegal, mid-level | £27,000 to £34,000 |
| Employment paralegal, senior with own files | £32,000 to £38,000 |
Solicitor bands are from LawBoard salary benchmarking 2026, which models mid-size firm pay across England and Wales. Smaller high street firms often pay below these bands, and larger regional firms above.
Support and paralegal bands are typical ranges for regional firms outside London.
What moves pay: tribunal-heavy work and advocacy price towards the top of the range, as do senior-level clients and HR teams. SME advisory work tends to sit lower. In most regions the midpoint rises by around £15,000 to £20,000 between NQ and 4 to 5 PQE.
What it costs to hire
Compared with a typical agency fee of 20% of first-year salary, Sourcefully's flat fees are set by salary band and paid when your hire starts. For roles from £45,000, £500 is due when the search starts and deducted from the fee. Fees are plus VAT.
| Role | Salary | Agency at 20% | Sourcefully flat fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment paralegal | £30,000 | £6,000 | £4,000 |
| Employment solicitor, NQ | £50,000 | £10,000 | £5,000 |
| Employment solicitor, 4 to 5 PQE | £68,000 | £13,600 | £7,500 |
| Senior employment solicitor | £90,000 | £18,000 | £10,000 |
Hiring several roles a year? The Embedded Talent Partner retainer is £2,750 a month plus £1,000 per start. It covers up to three live roles at a time, with adverts under your own brand. Use the Recruitment Cost Audit to see which option works out cheaper for your volume.
What the employment market is like
Employment law reform and a busy tribunal system keep both advisory and contentious teams stretched. Firms compete for the same mid-level lawyers with in-house HR teams and employment law consultancies, which often offer more predictable hours.
That competition means flexibility, a clear client base and a realistic billing target carry real weight. Benchmark the role before advertising: price it too low and the shortlist is thin, too high and you set a pay problem for the rest of the team.
What to look for when you screen
- Claimant or respondent work, or both.
- Tribunal experience: preliminary hearings, full hearings, and how much advocacy they do themselves.
- Advisory work: contracts, handbooks, settlement agreements, redundancy, restructuring and TUPE.
- Who they advise: business owners, HR teams or individuals.
- Business development, including running training sessions or seminars for clients.
- Their billing record and how they handle fixed-fee advisory packages.
How to make your role stand out
- State the split between tribunal and advisory work.
- Describe the client base and the size of the businesses you advise.
- Be clear about business development expectations.
- Offer flexibility. In-house and consultancy roles are your real competition.
More hiring guides
- Residential conveyancing
- Private client
- Corporate and commercial
- Family
- Secretaries, assistants and paralegals
- Fee-earning paralegals
See also the law firm salary guide 2026, how much legal recruitment costs and all hiring guides.
Free PDF
Get every regional salary table in one PDF
Solicitor pay for five practice areas across all ten regions, plus legal support roles and what each costs to recruit. Four pages, ready to print for your next salary review or hiring meeting.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an employment solicitor earn in 2026?
Outside London, around £37,000 to £61,000 at NQ, £49,000 to £82,000 at 4 to 5 PQE and £65,000 to £124,000 at 8 to 15 PQE depending on region. London pays £55,000 to £79,000 at NQ and £96,000 to £161,000 at senior level.
Do tribunal lawyers earn more than advisory lawyers?
Often, yes. Tribunal-heavy roles with real advocacy tend to price towards the top of the band, while SME advisory roles sit lower. The client base and billing rates matter as much as the type of work.
How much does it cost to recruit an employment solicitor?
A typical agency fee of 20% on a £68,000 employment solicitor is £13,600. Sourcefully charges a flat £7,500 plus VAT at that salary: £500 when the search starts, deducted from the fee, and the rest when your hire starts.
Who do we compete with for employment lawyers?
Other firms, but also in-house HR and legal teams and employment law consultancies. They often offer steadier hours, so firms need to be clear about flexibility, workload and progression to compete.
About the author
Ben Holtom, founder of Sourcefully
Ben has 15 years in recruitment, including internal recruitment at Reed and The Edwin Group. He founded RecQuest, a South Coast legal recruitment business, in 2025 and partnered with 45 law firms, making nearly a placement a week. He now runs Sourcefully, offering law firms embedded recruitment and fixed-fee hiring.