The chairs and
vice-chairs of the Bar Council and BSB and the chief executive of the Bar
Council and director general of the BSB have all taken a voluntary, temporary
20% pay cut.
Seven of the
35 employees at the Bar Council have been furloughed, as have six out of 41
employees in the resources group (the human resources and finance services team
shared by the BSB and Bar Council).
The Pupillage
Fair as well as training courses and other events will go ahead as online
events. The Bar Council has also reviewed its business plans for
representation, policy and services, and cut some planned work in order to save
money and staff time.
Malcolm Cree,
chief executive of the Bar Council, said: ‘Right now, our focus is on
supporting the profession we represent through this crisis.
‘We have been
working flat out to ensure that the vital public service and contribution to
society and the economy that the Bar provides is recognised and supported. The
scale of the challenge for practitioners and chambers must be addressed.
‘As the Bar
Council (including the BSB) is funded by the Bar, with fees based on earnings
in the previous year, we are anticipating a significant drop in income next
year, hence the need to cut costs early so we do not become a greater financial
burden on those we are trying to support. Therefore, we have furloughed roles,
frozen pay and recruitment and cut back our business plans.’
The Bar
Council receives 27.9% of barristers’ practising certificate fees. The BSB
takes 66.7% and the Legal Services Board and Legal ombudsman take 5.4%.
Cree said: ‘We
are a very small organisation, which relies heavily on our dedicated staff and
some 400 volunteer barristers, and punches well above our weight, but we know
that we need to be as lean as possible, especially now.’
