Over 93 per cent of members at yesterday’s AGM voted in favour of the proposal, which could cost the Society around £500,000 in back pay, the Law Society Gazette reports.

The move was proposed in response to the removal in March 2023 of a tax break which allowed Council members to claim an annual expense allowance (AEA) worth around £1,640.

Council members are initially entitled to an uprated sum equivalent to the former AEA, worth £2,050.

They can also claim a one-off retrospective period equivalent to the sum they would have received if the AEA was not scrapped in March 2023.

However, the payments are likely to be increased by the Law Society Board’s people and remuneration committee amid suggestions that paying Council members could improve diversity and encourage junior and in-house lawyers to take part.

There is also some discomfort within the Law Society about the fact that Council members will be paid, but members of Law Society committees — who were also previously eligible for the AEA — will not, meaning more changes could be made in future.