Pinsent Masons, CMS, Macfarlanes, Hogan Lovells, Travers Smith and Stephenson Harwood have joined the ranks of firms increasing salaries for newly qualified (NQ) lawyers, as well as bolstering pay for trainees.

From September, Macfarlanes will increase NQ pay by 6.6% to £80,000, up from £75,000, while Hogan Lovells has boosted salaries by 4% to £78,000, up from £75,000, with the change taking effect at the start of the financial year this May.

The firm operates a merit-based pay model with broad salary bands, which enable it to account for individual performance.

Travers Smith will bump up NQ pay by 4.7%, from £75,000 to £78,500, while Stephenson Harwood has increased NQ salaries to £73,000, 10.6% up on £66,000.

Pinsents and CMS have both boosted NQ pay to £70,000. Pinsents' rates are up 3% from £68,000 last year, while CMS is up by 3.7% from £67,500.

Trainees at Hogan Lovells will receive a 2% pay boost, up to £45,000 for first-years and £50,000 for second-years. Stephenson Harwood trainees can also expect to see their pay boosted by £1,000, with first-years receiving £41,000 and second-years receiving £45,000.

Meanwhile, trainee pay at Pinsents is being increased by £1,000 to £41,000 for first-years and £43,000 for second-years, with CMS trainees receiving a £3,000 pay rise to £43,000 for first-years and £48,000 for second-years.

First-year trainees at Travers Smith will also receive a pay boost from £43,500 to £45,000, with the former second-year trainee rate increasing from £49,000 to £50,500.

Other UK firms to have recently increased pay for NQs include Dentons, which is set to raise salaries from £70,000 to £75,000 from September, and Addlewshaw Goddard, which will bump up salaries from £65,000 to £70,000.

Last week, Allen & Overy (A&O) increased NQ pay by 2.5% to £83,000, while Clifford Chance (CC) increased its own associate salaries to £87,300, up from a maximum of £85,000 last year.