The Law Society said today that it was pleased the government
had acknowledged concerns that too high a salary threshold would
jeopardise the export success and other professional services
firms. Rules will be laid by 15 March for introduction on 6
April.
A spokesperson said:
'We welcome the changes to settlement rights for skilled
workers, including a salary threshold of 35k. The Law
Society is pleased that the salary threshold was set at the lower
end of the range on which government consulted. An interesting new
development is the new category of permitted paid engagements (PPE)
which will allow professionals to undertake permitted paid work for
up to one month. This is potentially very useful to law firms.'
The government statement gives as an example of how this new
option might be used of lawyers 'providing advocacy in a particular
area of law as a qualified lawyer for the purposes of a court or
tribunal hearing, arbitration or other form of alternative dispute
resolution for legal proceedings within the UK'.