We deserve a pay increase, says top judge on £200,000 a year

A JUDGE on more than £ 00,000 a year says the judiciary needs a pay rise.

Lord Justice Gross criticised judicial salaries, despite saying that ‘no one goes into the judiciary to make money’. Lord Gross, who sits in the Court of Appeal, made the comments in a speech to the Institute of Maritime Law.

He said: ‘There comes a point when pay is so far out of line with the private sector market that it endangers recruitment of the very best and retention.

‘There is a danger in relying unduly on goodwill.

‘ More than the money, there is the perception that these issues reflect government not valuing the judiciary – and even judges do take note, as recent surveys of judicial morale have so clearly shown.’

A judicial attitude survey earlier this year revealed that two out of three judges think they are paid too little.

The findings came despite the fact that all those who took part in the survey were on six-figure salaries.

Lord Justice Gross – who has sat in the Court of Appeal since 010 – said recent changes to the judicial pension scheme had ‘significantly aggravated’ the problem. ‘If we do not address pay and pensions, over time the quality of our judiciary will decline,’ he added, according to The Daily Telegraph.

He went on to call for Westminster to ‘ensure that judicial office remains properly attractive to the best and most able practitioners’.

The Senior Salaries Review Body is holding a review into judicial pay, which is due to be completed in June.

Earlier this year some of the most senior judges were awarded sweeping pay rises of 11 per cent in a deal quietly approved by ministers and granted by Justice Secretary Liz Truss.

Judges are paid between £ 85,954 and £ 5 ,079, according to the Ministry of Justice. Lord Justice Gross, who is Lord Justice of Appeal, was paid £ 0 ,668 till 015, but it has since risen to £ 06,74 . Old Bailey judges are paid £145,614, while High Court judges earn £181,566.