Saving Tool UK

Legal Executive Pay UK 2026/27

Legal executive salaries reflect a specialist-qualified route that can deliver solicitor-equivalent practice responsibility in many areas. Earnings often strengthen further after Fellowship and rights-based progression.

Calculate your take-home →See salary breakdown

At a Glance

  • Graduate CILEx Member£1,793 / mo
    of £25,000 gross a year
  • Chartered Legal Executive (Fellow)£2,993 / mo
    of £45,000 gross a year
  • Senior / Head of Department£4,021 / mo
    of £65,000 gross a year
Take-homeTaxNI

Chartered Legal Executives (CILEx Fellows) are qualified lawyers who can draft legal documents and, with the relevant practice rights authorisation, conduct litigation and practise with rights comparable to solicitors in their specialism.

CILEx's 2024 salary survey reported median Fellow earnings around £47,000, supporting employer demand for the practice-led CILEx pathway.

Many legal executives operate autonomously in conveyancing, family law, and wills and probate teams.

Legal Executive Salary Breakdown UK 2026/27

The table below shows typical legal executive salaries across experience levels and regions, alongside estimated take-home pay after income tax and National Insurance. Click any gross salary figure to open it in the calculator.

LevelNational GrossNational Take-HomeMonthly (National)London GrossLondon Take-Home
Graduate CILEx Member£25,000£21,521£1,793£33,000£27,281
Chartered Legal Executive (Fellow)£45,000£35,921£2,993£58,000£44,198
Senior / Head of Department£65,000£48,258£4,021£85,000£59,858

How Legal Executive Pay Works in the UK

CILEx Fellow status opens the way to applying for litigation and advocacy practice rights (they are not automatic); since the Court of Appeal's March 2026 Mazur ruling, staff without those rights can also carry out litigation work under an authorised person's supervision; salary typically jumps £8,000–£15,000 on achieving Fellow status

Conveyancing legal executives are in particularly high demand and command £38,000–£58,000 nationally outside London

CILEx Fellows can qualify as solicitors via the CILEx to Solicitor pathway under the SQE regulations

In-house legal executive roles at insurers and banks often pay better than law firm equivalents and offer stronger benefit packages

The CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ) is now the route for new students, replacing the old Level 3 and Level 6 qualifications; it is a work-based alternative to the SQE, which replaced the LPC for new solicitor entrants from September 2021

Head of Department legal executives at larger firms can earn £65,000–£90,000 in London, comparable to senior solicitor rates

Income Tax and National Insurance in 2026/27

Like all UK workers, legal executives salaries are subject to income tax and National Insurance (NI) contributions. In the 2026/27 tax year:

Income Tax Bands
Up to £12,5700% (Personal Allowance)
£12,571 – £50,27020% (Basic Rate)
£50,271 – £125,14040% (Higher Rate)
Above £125,14045% (Additional Rate)
Employee National Insurance
Up to £12,5700%
£12,570 – £50,2708%
Above £50,2702%
--

Use the calculator above to see your exact take-home pay after all deductions, including pension contributions and student loan repayments if applicable.

Related Pay Guides

Browse All Pay Guides →
Take-home calculator

Your take-home pay

Enter your salary and we'll break down income tax, National Insurance, pension contributions and your final take-home for 2026/27.

Your pay

per year
per year

Bonuses, commission, overtime, capital gains, investments and similar.

Your take-home pay

£2,858a month

£34,301 a year · £660 a week

Out of £3,750 gross a month

  • Take-home pay£2,85876.2%
  • Your pension+ £113 from your employer£1885.0%
  • Income tax£50313.4%
  • National Insurance£2015.4%
HMRC 2026/27 rates, updated 6 April 2026

If you invested £608 each month into an ISA after covering your expenses, you could make £363,814 over 25 years: +£181,296 on top of what you put in, thanks to compounding returns.

See how
Pension, region, student loan, State Pension age
%
%

Try changing your contributions to see how it affects everything.

Where you pay tax
State Pension age

68 applies if you were born after 5 April 1978.

Explore your finances

Model your expenses, project your wealth, and find your path to financial independence, using the pay figures above.

Your monthly spending

Essentials

£per month
Housing, bills, council tax, food.

Everything else

£per month
Things you choose to pay for.

Your plan

The earliest you can retire with your workplace pension is usually 55 (rising to 57 from 6 April 2028). You won't get your state pension until your mid or late 60s, depending on your current age. Tip: try playing around with your target retirement age to see how things change.
£
The total balance of all your existing pension pots.
£
The total balance of any existing ISA Savings accounts (GIAs are not currently supported)

Financial independence

%
% of today
%
Financial independence means having enough saved that your outgoings are covered for the rest of your life.

Where your £3,750 a month goes

  • Essentials£1,750
  • Everything else£500
  • Tax and NI£704
  • Pension£188
  • Left to invest in your ISA£608

Projected wealth

Estimated income over 50 years, in today's money, with a 5% annual return and 0.35% yearly platform and fund fees.

Projected pension

Your pension pot over 31 years at three growth rates, after 0.35% fees, in today's money.

Calculations
  • FI Target = Annual outgoings (£21,600) * Years needed for 4.00% SWR (25.00) = £540,000
  • Invested annual pension = £3,600
  • Invested annual surplus = £7,301
  • Inflation of 2.5% / year
  • Assumes New State Pension, payments increasing with inflation (2.5% / year)
  • Assumes student loans last 30 years max
  • Assumes a flex-drawdown pension for illustration purposes
  • Assumes you draw down pension up to the higher rate bracket (£50,270), then draw down your S&S ISA
  • Pension lump sums are not included

Take-home pay by salary

See the full 2026/27 breakdown for common salaries.