Barrister strike: Why are the barristers striking and how much does a junior barrister earn?

Barristers in England and Wales are striking due to a system pushed to “breaking point”.

On the second day of the barrister strike in England and Wales, Downing Street has urged striking barristers to accept a pay offer and end any impact on victims.

Barristers will be staging court walkouts for several days from Monday June 27th in a dispute over legal aid funding. They will also refuse to accept new cases and to carry out "return work" - stepping in and picking up court hearings and other work for colleagues whose cases are overrunning.

A No 10 spokesperson said: "The Justice Secretary himself has said we encourage them to agree the proposed 15% pay rise which would see a typical barrister earn around £7,000 a year more, so our message would be similar. We urge those barristers to take that pay offer and ensure that victims don't have to wait any longer for justice than they already have."

Scotland doesn’t have barristers, instead having advocates who fulfil much the same role in the Scottish legal system. This means that the barrister strikes are only taking place in England and Wales, not north of the border. But why are the barrister striking in the first place? Here’s what you need to know.

Why are barristers striking?

Barristers in England and Wales began strike action in a dispute over pay and conditions. This means that some crown courts across the two nations are running limited services, with criminal trials and other cases postponed or rescheduled from Monday, the first day of a walkout by thousands of lawyers.

Defence barristers take part in a strike outside the Old Bailey on June 27th. Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images/

Barristers on picket lines accused the Government of not listening to their concerns about the criminal justice system, and are angry that a proposed pay rise of 15% would not kick in immediately or apply to backlogged cases.

The CBA said around 81.5% of the more than 2,000 members to vote in the ballot supported walking out of court. They will also refuse to accept new cases and carry out "return work" - stepping in and picking up court hearings and other work for colleagues whose cases are overrunning.

Two days' strike action is expected this week, with an additional day added each week for the next three weeks. It is not believed fresh talks with the Government are planned.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said the barrister strikes are "regrettable" and will "only delay justice for victims" at a time when pressures on the criminal justice system have resulted in significant waiting times for cases to be concluded.

Defence barristers voted for strike action in a dispute with the government over funding in criminal trials, and the attendant pay for lawyers working in criminal justice. Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images.

Monday's walkout - the first of 14 days' action planned for the next four weeks - meant that some courtrooms sat empty, while others were only able to swear juries in before adjourning cases until later in the week, when lawyers are available.

"The Criminal Bar Association has repeatedly warned the Government that the huge decline in real incomes at the criminal bar poses the most serious threat to the British legal system in decades,” said Kirsty Brimelow, vice chairwoman of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), which represents barristers in England and Wales. "We have made our case over and over again to Government but our warnings continue to fall on deaf ears. They have no solution to saving the criminal justice system. This is a national crisis which is of Government making and it must be dealt with as a national emergency.

"We cannot allow further attacks on our profession when we know the reality of the crumbling courts and junior barristers, who walked away long before this action. We take this action in the name of citizens of this country because it is their justice system that we are determined to protect. We will not sit idly by and watch its destruction. We are doing what we have been trained to do, which is to fight for justice."

How much does a junior barrister earn?

According to barrister Kannan Siva, who spoke to press outside Bristol Crown Court, junior criminal barristers are paid below minimum wage, earning a median income of around £12,200 a year. He went on to say that more than one in four barristers have been "driven out of the jobs they loved because they simply can't afford to stay".

Mr Siva also described the situation as “not only scandalous but it will choke off the supply of the next generation of advocates - that pool of advocates that will help society and become our future judges. And it means that victims and defendants will suffer years and years of waiting to get justice in court."

Barrister Rebecca Filletti said the system is at "breaking point". Speaking from outside Manchester Crown Court, she said: "I work in excess of 18-hour days, I work weekends, I miss out on family things, and most of that work is work for which I don't get paid and I feel I need to do to a good job for my clients.

"Today is the first day in my entire career I have not gone to court. I attend if I'm sick, I attend if I have got family commitments, and I would not have taken this decision lightly. The reason I have taken this decision is things need to change."

Additional reporting by PA.