Barristers and judges: salary in the UK
About £42,697 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +7.6% on last year
£4,618 a month About £3,558 a month after tax
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £52,473 in 2022 to £55,412 in 2026 (+6%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +24% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | x | x | x | x | x |
| 2022 | x | £33,942 | £52,473 | x | x |
| 2023 | x | £30,049 | £50,302 | x | x |
| 2024 | x | x | £61,782 | x | x |
| 2025 | x | £30,689 | £51,508 | x | x |
| 2026 | x | £30,425 | £55,412 | x | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £55,412 a year and half earn more. That is 35% more than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
Ranked by median, it is number 42 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £3,558 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £3,420 in Scotland.
The median for men is £43,120 and for women £65,503, a gap of 52% in women's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | x | x |
| 20th | £28,260 | £2,355 |
| 25th (P25) | £30,425 | £2,535 |
| 30th | £35,900 | £2,992 |
| 40th | £40,321 | £3,360 |
| Median (50th) | £55,412 | £4,618 |
| 60th | £61,827 | £5,152 |
| 70th | £69,871 | £5,823 |
| 75th (P75) | x | x |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £43,120 | x | x |
| Women | £65,503 | x | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £42,697 | £3,558 |
| Scotland | £41,038 | £3,420 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £55,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 31 job titles to SOC 2411 Barristers and judges. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Advocate
- Barrister
- Barrister-at-law
- Chairman
- Circuit judge
- Coroner
- County court registrar
- Crown advocate
- Crown prosecutor
- District judge
- JP
- Judge
- Justice of the peace
- KC
- King's counsel
- Legal advocate
- Magistrate
- Master
- Member of the inner temple
- Official referee
- Probate registrar
- Procurator fiscal
- QC
- Queen's counsel
- Recorder
- Registrar
- Sheriff
- Sheriff clerk
- Sheriff-substitute
- Solicitor advocate
- Solicitor-advocate
Similar occupations
All jobs in Professional occupations
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.