Legal secretaries: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time legal secretaries in the UK earned a median £26,968 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 31% less than the £39,039 median for all full-time jobs.
What the figures show
It is in the lowest-paid third of the 382 occupations (46th from the bottom).
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £24,242 and £31,660.
Median full-time pay: women £27,188 a year, men £25,055 a year.
Full-time paid hours are shorter than usual, a median of 35 a week.
About 62% of the roughly 24,000 employee jobs are full-time.
From £21,798 in 2021, the median is up 23.7%, close to the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 30,700 people in this line of work across the UK.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £22,212 | £441.40 | £12.74 | – | £251.80 | £12.53 |
| 20th percentile | £23,881 | £461.20 | £13.15 | £16,862* | £340.70 | £12.90 |
| 25th percentile | £24,242 | £479.00 | £13.32 | £18,543* | £371.40 | £13.14 |
| 30th percentile | £24,831 | £482.10 | £13.67 | £20,849 | £409.40 | £13.32 |
| 40th percentile | £25,624 | £505.30 | £14.10 | £22,614 | £441.50 | £13.80 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £26,968 | £518.70 | £14.60 | £24,263 | £478.70 | £14.22 |
| 60th percentile | £27,978 | £544.40 | £15.26 | £25,733 | £505.40 | £14.83 |
| 70th percentile | £31,101 | £579.40 | £16.24 | £27,457 | £532.40 | £15.81 |
| 75th percentile | £31,660* | £606.90* | £17.04* | £28,314* | £548.60 | £16.42 |
| 80th percentile | – | £660.20* | £17.83* | – | £576.20* | £17.33* |
| Mean | £29,332 | £570.80 | £16.06 | £24,728 | £479.70 | £15.67 |
Pay since 2021
| ASHE year | Full-time, annual median | Full-time, weekly median | Full-time, hourly median | All, annual median | All, weekly median | Jobs (thousands, indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 revised | £21,798 | £421.60 | £11.95 | £19,646 | £393.00 | 25 |
| 2022 revised | £22,616 | £440.10 | £11.96 | £20,005 | £402.50 | 24 |
| 2023 revised | £24,485 | £479.10 | £13.68 | £21,920 | £424.80 | 24 |
| 2024 revised | £25,855 | £498.30 | £13.89 | £23,067 | £454.10 | 20 |
| 2025 provisional | £26,968 | £518.70 | £14.60 | £24,263 | £478.70 | 24 |
Legal secretaries by region
UK: 30,700 (± 6,800), April 2025 to March 2026.
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What legal secretaries do
Legal secretaries file and maintain legal and other records, transcribe notes and dictation into typewritten form and perform other routine clerical tasks in legal practices. (ONS SOC 2020, 4212)
Also covers: legal administrator, legal clerk, legal secretary, secretary (legal services), admin assistant, admin officer, administration assistant, administration officer, administrative assistant, administrative officer, conveyancing secretary, legal pa, litigation secretary, personal assistant, probate clerk, legal aid clerk and legal personal assistant (19 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Types letters and legal documents such as wills and contracts
- Maintains court and clients’ records, organises diaries and arranges appointments
- Answers enquiries and directs clients to appropriate experts
- Attends meetings and keeps records of proceedings
- Delivers and collects documents
- Sorts and files correspondence and carries out general clerical work
There are no formal academic requirements, although employers may expect candidate to possess a legal secretarial qualification. Entrants to professional legal courses typically require GCSEs/ S grades or equivalent qualifications. NVQs/SVQs in Administration are available at levels 2, 3 and 4.
Related
Secretarial and related occupations (median £28,388) · Medical secretaries · School secretaries · salary percentile · UK average weekly earnings growth · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026