Slaughter and May has increased the bonuses it pays to its fee earners and staff, with associates now set to earn up to 12% on top of their regular pay package.

The firm brought in a new appraisal process for its associates earlier this year in a move to bring in merit-linked pay, resulting in "some differentiation" in discretionary bonuses paid to fee earners.

Fee earners with 4.5 to 6.5 years' post qualification experience (PQE) will pocket a bonus of up to 12%, while those with 2.5 to 4 years' PQE will gain a 10% bonus.

Top performers with one to two years' PQE will earn a bonus of 8%, while high-performing associates with up to six months' PQE will receive a 6% bonus.

The bonus paid to associates last year was a flat rate of 5%.

Meanwhile trainees and support staff will receive a 3% bonus payout, up on 2.5% last year.

Commenting on this year's bonuses, executive partner Richard Clark (pictured) said: "Our philosophy as a firm is different to the extent that we do not impose billing or time recording targets on our associates and our approach to bonus differentiation is to recognise performance and career progression while ensuring that we reflect our team culture of valuing everyone's contribution."

In the new appraisal process, the firm has not broken with associate lockstep but has set up two salary bands available to lawyers from 4.5 years PQE to partner level – 'good' (where the majority will sit) and 'exceptional'.

Whether senior associates are branded 'good' or 'exceptional' depends on their overall score in the appraisal system, which scores associates across four key areas: legal knowledge and skills; business and communication skills; practice management skills; and people skills and personal development.