Hiring for Legal, Risk & Compliance in the UK.
The Legal, Risk & Compliance market in 2023 remained stable, in stark contrast to the rapid expansion and hiring in some sectors like Financial Services post-COVID. This has been the case across both permanent and contract roles, with fewer projects being conducted that require immediate candidates.
With more candidates available, recruitment processes are lengthening. As companies take longer to deliberate on hires, some frustrated candidates are dropping out. Hiring managers should be aware of this as markets recover, and top talent can be lost to other opportunities that move faster.
Coming into 2024, we anticipate there to be more hiring across Legal, Risk & Compliance - niche skill sets within these areas will always remain in demand.
The top 3 things to successfully attract and hire talent in Legal, Risk & Compliance:
- 1
Flexible working patterns
- 2
Offering career progression opportunities
- 3
Employer brand
In demand roles
- Legal Counsel
- Company Secretary
- Paralegal
- Senior Legal Counsel
- General Counsel
- Credit Risk Manager
- Funds FI Credit Risk
- Front Office Controls
- Climate Risk Manager
- Quant/Model Validation
- Front Office Compliance Advisory
- Financial Crime Advisory VP/D
- Compliance Assurance Manager
- Compliance Advisory - Asset Management
- AML Manager
Valuable skill sets
- Contract negotiation & drafting
- Corporate law (mainly M&A)
- Company secretarial & corporate governance
- Employment law
- Litigation
- Corporate Credit Risk
- Funds FI Credit Risk
- Front Office Controls
- Climate/Credit Risk experience
- Quant/Model Validation
- Trading floor compliance experience
- Financial Crime Advisory
- Compliance Monitoring/Assurance
- Asset Management Compliance Advisory experience
- AML 2nd line experience
Up, down or flat? The state of salaries.
We anticipate the Risk & Compliance job market will rebound after a year of stabilisation and salaries will rise again in 2024, with a particular focus on the niche roles in demand, elevating salary offers.
Legal salaries within private practice have been rising since 2022, with the City and National law firms raising starting salaries to compete with American law firms. In-house salaries have yet to adjust, and the private practice to the in- house pipeline has slowed down. We anticipate a response from the in-house market going into 2024, as the demand for in-house legal work remains strong.
of Legal, Risk & Compliance hiring managers said salary bandings have remained flat in the last 6 months.
Legal, Risk & Compliance salaries in the UK
| Job Title | Sector | Sub Sector | Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Title | Sector | Sub Sector | Location | 0 - 3 years | 3 - 5 years | 5+ years |
General Counsel Commerce & Industry Commerce & Industry |
Legal | Commerce & Industry | London | £100,000 - £125,000 | £125,000 - £150,000 | £160,000 - £185,000+ |
Legal Director Commerce & Industry Commerce & Industry |
Legal | Commerce & Industry | London | £100,000 - £110,000 | £100,000 - £120,000 | £120,000 - £140,000+ |
Senior Legal Counsel Commerce & Industry Commerce & Industry |
Legal | Commerce & Industry | London | £80,000 - £100,000 | £90,000 - £110,000 | £110,000 - £130,000+ |
Legal Counsel Commerce & Industry Commerce & Industry |
Legal | Commerce & Industry | London | £65,000 - £80,000 | £75,000 - £90,000 | £90,000 - £115,000+ |
Junior Legal Counsel / Legal Advisor Commerce & Industry Commerce & Industry |
Legal | Commerce & Industry | London | £45,000 - £60,000 | £60,000 - £75,000 | £75,000 - £90,000+ |
Newly Qualified Solicitor Commerce & Industry Commerce & Industry |
Legal | Commerce & Industry | London | £65,000 - £85,000 | ||
Contracts Manager Commerce & Industry Commerce & Industry |
Legal | Commerce & Industry | London | £30,000 - £45,000 | £45,000 - £60,000 | £60,000 - £75,000+ |
Company Secretary Commerce & Industry Commerce & Industry |
Legal | Commerce & Industry | London | £70,000 - £85,000 | £85,000 - £100,000 | £100,000 - £120,000+ |
Assistant Company Secretary Commerce & Industry Commerce & Industry |
Legal | Commerce & Industry | London | £50,000 - £60,000 | £60,000 - £70,000 | £70,000 - £80,000+ |
Paralegal / Legal Executive Commerce & Industry Commerce & Industry |
Legal | Commerce & Industry | London | £25,000 - £35,000 | £35,000 - £45,000 | £45,000 - £55,000+ |
General Counsel Financial Services Financial Services |
Legal | Financial Services | London | £110,000 - £145,000 | £145,000 - £180,000 | £180,000 - £215,000+ |
Legal Director Financial Services Financial Services |
Legal | Financial Services | London | £90,000 - £110,000 | £110,000 - £130,000 | £130,000 - £150,000+ |
Senior Legal Counsel Financial Services Financial Services |
Legal | Financial Services | London | £95,000 - £115,000 | £115,000 - £135,000 | £135,000 - £155,000+ |
Legal Counsel Financial Services Financial Services |
Legal | Financial Services | London | £75,000 - £95,000 | £95,000 - £115,000 | £115,000 - £135,000+ |
Junior Legal Counsel / Legal Advisor Financial Services Financial Services |
Legal | Financial Services | London | £65,000 - £80,000 | £80,000 - £95,000 | £95,000 - £110,000+ |
Newly Qualified Solicitor Financial Services Financial Services |
Legal | Financial Services | London | £65,000 - £75,000 | ||
Contracts Manager Financial Services Financial Services |
Legal | Financial Services | London | £40,000 - £55,000 | £55,000 - £70,000 | £70,000 - £85,000+ |
Company Secretary Financial Services Financial Services |
Legal | Financial Services | London | £90,000 - £120,000 | £120,000 - £150,000 | £150,000 - £180,000+ |
Assistant Company Secretary Financial Services Financial Services |
Legal | Financial Services | London | £60,000 - £70,000 | £70,000 - £80,000 | £80,000 - £90,000+ |
Paralegal / Legal Executive Financial Services Financial Services |
Legal | Financial Services | London | £40,000 - £50,000 | £50,000 - £60,000 | £60,000 - £70,000+ |
Head of Risk |
Risk Management | London | £120,000 - £150,000 | £140,000 - £170,000 | £170,000 - £220,000 | |
Risk Manager |
Risk Management | London | £65,000 - £80,000 | £80,000 - £95,000 | £95,000 - £140,000 | |
Head of Credit Risk |
Risk Management | London | £120,000 - £145,000 | £140,000 - £180,000 | £160,000 - £200,000 | |
Credit Risk Manager |
Risk Management | London | £60,000 - £85,000 | £80,000 - £110,000 | £95,000 - £130,000 | |
Credit Risk Analyst |
Risk Management | London | £60,000 - £85,000 | £75,000 - £100,000 | £100,000 - £140,000 | |
Credit Analyst |
Risk Management | London | £45,000 - £75,000 | £75,000 - £100,000 | £100,000 - £140,000 | |
Head of Operational Risk |
Risk Management | London | £110,000 - £125,000 | £125,000 - £160,000 | £160,000 - £200,000 | |
Operational Risk Manager |
Risk Management | London | £70,000 - £80,000 | £80,000 - £100,000 | £100,000 - £200,000 | |
Operational Risk Analyst |
Risk Management | London | £50,000 - £60,000 | £70,000 - £85,000 | £85,000 - £125,000 | |
Compliance Assistant |
Compliance | London | £30,000 - £60,000 | £55,000 - £70,000 | £60,000 - £90,000 | |
Compliance DCM Advisory |
Compliance | London | £80,000 - £100,000 | £100,000 - £130,000 | £120,000 - £200,000 | |
Fraud Analyst |
Compliance | London | £35,000 - £40,000 | £40,000 - £45,000 | £45,000 - £50,000 | |
Compliance Regulatory Officer |
Compliance | London | £70,000 - £75,000 | £75,000 - £80,000 | £80,000 - £90,000 | |
KYC Manager |
Compliance | London | £70,000 - £75,000 | £75,000 - £80,000 | £80,000 - £85,000 | |
Head of AML |
Compliance | London | £100,000 - £12,000 | £12,000 - £150,000 | £150,000 - £300,000 | |
Compliance ECM Advisory |
Compliance | London | £80,000 - £100,000 | £100,000 - £130,000 | £120,000 - £200,000 | |
MLRO |
Compliance | London | £100,000 - £130,000 | £130,000 - £180,000 | £150,000 - £30,000 | |
Compliance Monitoring Officer |
Compliance | London | £50,000 - £55,000 | £55,000 - £70,000 | £60,000 - £85,000 | |
Head of Compliance |
Compliance | London | £100,000 - £120,000 | £120,000 - £150,000 | £150,000 - £300,000 | |
KYC Analyst |
Compliance | London | £30,000 - £40,000 | £40,000 - £45,000 | £45,000 - £55,000 | |
AML Manager |
Compliance | London | £70,000 - £75,000 | £75,000 - £90,000 | £90,000 - £120,000 | |
Compliance Corporate Finance Advisory |
Compliance | London | £80,000 - £100,000 | £100,000 - £130,000 | £120,000 - £200,000 | |
DMLRO |
Compliance | London | £80,000 - £90,000 | £90,000 - £120,000 | £120,000 - £170,000 | |
Compliance Officer |
Compliance | London | £50,000 - £55,000 | £55,000 - £60,000 | £60,000 - £70,000 | |
Legal Compliance Manager/Director |
Compliance | London | £100,000 - £115,000 | £115,000 - £130,000 | £130,000 - £200,000 | |
Periodic Reviewer |
Compliance | London | £30,000 - £40,000 | £40,000 - £45,000 | £45,000 - £50,000 | |
AML Analyst |
Compliance | London | £40,000 - £75,000 | £75,000 - £85,000 | £85,000 - £100,000 | |
Compliance Testing and Reviews |
Compliance | London | £70,000 - £90,000 | £90,000 - £120,000 | £120,000 - £180,000 | |
Financial Crime Officer |
Compliance | London | £50,000 - £70,000 | £70,000 - £90,000 | £90,000 - £110,000 | |
Compliance Generalist |
Compliance | London | £40,000 - £60,000 | £60,000 - £80,000 | £80,000 - £110,000 | |
Compliance Advisory |
Compliance | London | £80,000 - £100,000 | £100,000 - £130,000 | £130,000 - £200,000 | |
Investigations Officer |
Compliance | London | £40,000 - £45,000 | £45,000 - £50,000 | £50,000 - £55,000 | |
Compliance Manager (Financial Services) |
Compliance | London | £70,000 - £80,000 | £80,000 - £90,000 | £90,000 - £130,000 | |
Head of KYC |
Compliance | London | £80,000 - £90,000 | £90,000 - £100,000 | £100,000 - £120,000 | |
Internal Audit Director |
Internal Audit | London | £120,000 - £200,000 | |||
VP Internal Audit |
Internal Audit | London | £90,000 - £120,000 | |||
AVP Internal Audit |
Internal Audit | London | £65,000 - £90,000 | |||
Internal Auditor (newly qualified) |
Internal Audit | London | £50,000 - £65,000 | |||
IT Audit Director |
IT Audit / IT Risk | London | £100,000 - £180,000 | |||
Head of IT Audit |
IT Audit / IT Risk | London | £100,000 - £220,000 | |||
IT Audit Senior Manager |
IT Audit / IT Risk | London | £80,000 - £125,000 | |||
IT Audit Manager |
IT Audit / IT Risk | London | £70,000 - £115,000 | |||
IT Auditor |
IT Audit / IT Risk | London | £55,000 - £70,000 |
Download Your 2024 Legal, Risk & Compliance Salary Guide for the UK.
Permanent, temporary and contract salary data for a range of Legal, Risk & Compliance roles, as well as insights and advice to guide your talent strategies.
