The Law Society has branded the recent trainee minimum salary review by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) as "unfortunate" and "premature", as trainees face seeing their pay fall to as little as £2.60 per hour.

The society's response comes after the SRA launched a consultation on the minimum salary for trainees in January this year, after claiming there was no clear evidence that setting a minimum salary fulfils any of the regulatory objectives of the Legal Services Act, which came into force last year.

However, the Law Society has criticised the proposals in light of the ongoing Legal Education and Training Review (LETR), while stressing its support for the minimum salary as a "safeguard" against trainee exploitation.

It said: "In the Law Society's view, it is unfortunate that the SRA has chosen to consult on this issue at this time. Consideration of this issue is premature in the light of the ongoing LETR.

"It cannot be possible to make a considered decision on this important and emotive matter when, as both the SRA and the Legal Services Board have indicated, there is the potential for such radical change in the future landscape of education and training for solicitors in England and Wales. The regulation of the minimum salary for trainee solicitors should not, in our view, be dealt with as a discrete issue."

The current minimum salary levels are £18,590 in central London and £16,650 outside, with the rates frozen in the past two years to reflect the economic downturn. In contrast, the national minimum wage is set at £6.08 per hour for those aged 21 and over.

However, the deregulation of the minimum salary could see traineeships classed as apprenticeships, which would mean employers are only liable to pay the national minimum wage as set out in 1999.

These regulations would apply a rate of £2.60 per hour for apprentices in their first year, and £6.08 per hour (the standard minimum wage) for subsequent years.

The results of the SRA's consultation will be fed back to the SRA board at its May meeting.