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Anger as it's revealed judges set for a massive £60,000 pay rise

Laughing all the way to the bank? Judges could get a £60,000 pay rise (PA)
Laughing all the way to the bank? Judges could get a £60,000 pay rise (PA)

Judges in England and Wales could be set for a whopping £60,000 pay rise.

The Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) has recommended the huge pay hike, at a time when other public sector workers are being offered considerably less.

Police and prison officers, for example, have been restricted to pay rises of less than 3%.

Teachers have been awarded a 3.5% pay rise while those in the armed forces 2.9%.

The judges pay award works out at a rise of 32%.

Head teachers protest against funding cuts outside Parliament last month (PA)
Head teachers protest against funding cuts outside Parliament last month (PA)

The double digit recommendation for judges, which the review body says is to address low morale among judges, could spark an outcry among low paid workers.

The pay rise of up to 32% would see a High Court judge’s salary jump to around £240,000.

Crown Court judges are in line for a 22% rise, taking them to £165,000.

The SSRB points to the number of people applying to be a judge halving in the past decade.

Those already in the judiciary are said to be suffering from increased workloads and seen their pensions cut in recent years.

Last year, it was revealed that one in three judges were considering resigning.

The rise, if accepted, is unlikely to play out well politically for the government, which has the final decision.

Already online critics have ridiculed the proposed pay rise, claiming judges are just suffering the same problems as the rest of the workforce.

The chair of the Police Federation, John Apter, said his members had received an 18% pay cut in real terms and were being ‘shafted’.

Former Labour minister Andrew Adonis also took to Twitter to ridicule the recommendation, by posting pictures of laughing emoji faces.