Legal Contract Job Trends in the UK excluding London

Legal
UK > UK excluding London

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Legal in contract job vacancies in the UK excluding London. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Legal over the 6 months leading up to 14 January 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
14 Jan 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 107 73 125
Rank change year-on-year -34 +52 +55
Contract jobs citing Legal 395 419 378
As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London 2.16% 3.03% 1.96%
As % of the General category 3.76% 5.01% 3.54%
Number of daily rates quoted 257 298 248
10th Percentile £188 £200 £200
25th Percentile £350 £363 £347
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £500 £475
Median % change year-on-year -5.00% +5.26% -4.04%
75th Percentile £569 £600 £600
90th Percentile £675 £700 £704
UK median daily rate £500 £500 £508
% change year-on-year - -1.48% -3.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 37 10 17
10th Percentile £14.25 £22.40 £12.12
25th Percentile £16.17 £25.68 £14.25
Median hourly rate £17.94 £41.64 £17.00
Median % change year-on-year -56.93% +144.94% -23.29%
75th Percentile £27.57 £63.77 £26.66
90th Percentile £74.26 £73.68 £51.45
UK median hourly rate £18.09 £33.75 £17.00
% change year-on-year -46.40% +98.53% -23.29%

All General Skills
UK excluding London

Legal falls under the General Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring general skills in the UK excluding London.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills 10,502 8,362 10,688
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London 57.32% 60.56% 55.31%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,492 4,725 6,647
10th Percentile £204 £210 £210
25th Percentile £363 £356 £366
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £481 £500
Median % change year-on-year -1.14% -3.90% -
75th Percentile £575 £588 £600
90th Percentile £675 £680 £688
UK median daily rate £500 £525 £540
% change year-on-year -4.76% -2.78% -1.82%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,112 494 956
10th Percentile £13.50 £15.23 £13.41
25th Percentile £16.00 £18.13 £15.00
Median hourly rate £21.38 £26.06 £29.33
Median % change year-on-year -17.96% -11.13% +30.59%
75th Percentile £44.94 £53.75 £56.77
90th Percentile £69.65 £70.00 £70.00
UK median hourly rate £23.00 £27.35 £30.24
% change year-on-year -15.90% -9.55% +20.95%

Legal
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Legal relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London.

Legal job vacancy trend in the UK excluding London

Legal
Daily Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Legal.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Legal

Legal
Daily Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Legal in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 14 January 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Legal in the UK excluding London

Legal
Hourly Rate Trend in the UK excluding London

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Legal.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK excluding London citing Legal

Legal
Hourly Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Legal in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 14 January 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Legal in the UK excluding London

Legal
Contract Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Legal within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 14 January 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year		 Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads		 Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months		 Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year		 Live
Jobs
North of England -22 129 £450 -10.00% 190
Midlands -45 74 £473 -18.53% 140
South East -60 70 £425 -16.95% 301
Yorkshire -2 68 £500 +13.64% 62
West Midlands -47 58 £475 -18.63% 70
North West -30 56 £375 -23.08% 95
South West -34 41 £513 +41.38% 112
Scotland +13 39 £513 +17.14% 49
East of England -7 27 £525 +3.45% 121
East Midlands -13 16 £445 +4.71% 69
Northern Ireland +3 10 £600 +118.18% 20
Wales -6 9 £323 +61.37% 36
North East -11 7 £450 -10.00% 34
Legal
UK

Legal
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 29 (7.34%) SharePoint
2 27 (6.84%) Microsoft Exchange
3 12 (3.04%) Confluence
4 6 (1.52%) CMS
5 4 (1.01%) CICS
6 2 (0.51%) Exchange Server 2013
7 1 (0.25%) Apache
7 1 (0.25%) FileNet
7 1 (0.25%) SharePoint Server
7 1 (0.25%) WordPress
Applications
1 31 (7.85%) Microsoft Office
2 30 (7.59%) Microsoft Excel
3 12 (3.04%) Microsoft Project
4 10 (2.53%) Microsoft PowerPoint
5 2 (0.51%) Spreadsheet
6 1 (0.25%) Adobe After Effects
6 1 (0.25%) Adobe Creative Suite
6 1 (0.25%) Adobe Illustrator
6 1 (0.25%) Adobe Premiere
6 1 (0.25%) Blender
6 1 (0.25%) CINEMA 4D
6 1 (0.25%) InVision
6 1 (0.25%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.25%) Photoshop
6 1 (0.25%) Sketch
6 1 (0.25%) Trello
Business Applications
1 4 (1.01%) assyst
1 4 (1.01%) VisionPLUS
2 3 (0.76%) Remedy ITSM
3 2 (0.51%) Elite 3E
3 2 (0.51%) NetSuite
3 2 (0.51%) SAP S/4HANA
4 1 (0.25%) Aareon QL
4 1 (0.25%) CA PPM
4 1 (0.25%) Dynamics CRM
4 1 (0.25%) Loan IQ
4 1 (0.25%) MIS ActiveH
4 1 (0.25%) NEC Housing
4 1 (0.25%) OPENHousing
4 1 (0.25%) Oracle Applications
4 1 (0.25%) Oracle EBS
4 1 (0.25%) Orchard Housing
4 1 (0.25%) SAP BPC
4 1 (0.25%) SAP CRM
4 1 (0.25%) SAP HCM
4 1 (0.25%) SAP Payroll
Cloud Services
1 50 (12.66%) Azure
2 41 (10.38%) Microsoft 365
3 23 (5.82%) AWS
4 13 (3.29%) Entra ID
4 13 (3.29%) Microsoft Purview
5 12 (3.04%) Power Platform
6 11 (2.78%) GCP
7 7 (1.77%) OCI
7 7 (1.77%) SuccessFactors
8 6 (1.52%) OneDrive
9 5 (1.27%) Dynamics 365
10 4 (1.01%) Azure DevOps
11 3 (0.76%) Amazon S3
11 3 (0.76%) AWS CloudFormation
11 3 (0.76%) Collibra
11 3 (0.76%) Figma
11 3 (0.76%) Google Drive
11 3 (0.76%) Power Automate
11 3 (0.76%) SaaS
12 2 (0.51%) Cloud Computing
Communications & Networking
1 23 (5.82%) Firewall
2 15 (3.80%) DNS
2 15 (3.80%) WAN
3 13 (3.29%) SD-WAN
3 13 (3.29%) VPN
4 8 (2.03%) WebEx
5 6 (1.52%) DHCP
5 6 (1.52%) LAN
5 6 (1.52%) TCP/IP
5 6 (1.52%) VLAN
5 6 (1.52%) Wireless
6 4 (1.01%) Internet
6 4 (1.01%) Network Security
7 3 (0.76%) BGP
7 3 (0.76%) NetScaler
8 2 (0.51%) Cisco IPT
8 2 (0.51%) Intranet
8 2 (0.51%) MPLS
8 2 (0.51%) SMTP
8 2 (0.51%) Unified Communications
Database & Business Intelligence
1 8 (2.03%) Power BI
2 5 (1.27%) Electronic Patient Records
3 4 (1.01%) Metadata
3 4 (1.01%) SQL Server
4 3 (0.76%) Data Mining
4 3 (0.76%) MySQL
4 3 (0.76%) PostgreSQL
5 2 (0.51%) Amazon RDS
5 2 (0.51%) Amazon Redshift
5 2 (0.51%) Data Lake
5 2 (0.51%) Data Warehouse
5 2 (0.51%) Oracle Database
5 2 (0.51%) RDBMS
5 2 (0.51%) Relational Database
5 2 (0.51%) Tableau
6 1 (0.25%) Amazon Aurora
6 1 (0.25%) Delta Lake
6 1 (0.25%) Power Query
6 1 (0.25%) QlikView
6 1 (0.25%) Semantic Layer
Development Applications
1 21 (5.32%) JIRA
2 2 (0.51%) Git
2 2 (0.51%) Jenkins
3 1 (0.25%) AdminStudio
3 1 (0.25%) InstallShield
3 1 (0.25%) MLflow
3 1 (0.25%) MSI
General
1 174 (44.05%) Social Skills
2 94 (23.80%) Finance
3 70 (17.72%) Analytical Skills
4 37 (9.37%) Public Sector
5 36 (9.11%) Law
6 22 (5.57%) Organisational Skills
7 18 (4.56%) Banking
8 15 (3.80%) Documentation Skills
9 10 (2.53%) Retail
10 8 (2.03%) Influencing Skills
10 8 (2.03%) Presentation Skills
10 8 (2.03%) Telecoms
11 7 (1.77%) Marketing
12 5 (1.27%) Retail Banking
13 4 (1.01%) Automotive
13 4 (1.01%) Billing
13 4 (1.01%) Local Government
13 4 (1.01%) Military
14 3 (0.76%) Front Office
14 3 (0.76%) Spanish Language
Job Titles
1 48 (12.15%) Analyst
2 38 (9.62%) Architect
3 31 (7.85%) Project Manager
4 19 (4.81%) Business Analyst
5 16 (4.05%) Lead
6 15 (3.80%) Commercial Manager
7 12 (3.04%) 1st Line Support
7 12 (3.04%) IT Manager
8 11 (2.78%) Developer
8 11 (2.78%) Security Officer
9 10 (2.53%) Administrator
9 10 (2.53%) Consultant
10 9 (2.28%) Enterprise Architect
10 9 (2.28%) Implementation Specialist
10 9 (2.28%) Network Engineer
10 9 (2.28%) Solutions Architect
11 8 (2.03%) Coordinator
11 8 (2.03%) Deployment Engineer
11 8 (2.03%) Field Engineer
11 8 (2.03%) Senior
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 8 (2.03%) Microsoft Graph
1 8 (2.03%) XMPP
2 4 (1.01%) RESTful
3 3 (0.76%) ARM Templates
3 3 (0.76%) AWS CDK
3 3 (0.76%) REST
4 2 (0.51%) .NET
4 2 (0.51%) CSS
4 2 (0.51%) DAO
4 2 (0.51%) Flash
4 2 (0.51%) HTML
4 2 (0.51%) MACH
4 2 (0.51%) PyTorch
4 2 (0.51%) React
4 2 (0.51%) Smart Contracts
5 1 (0.25%) Node.js
5 1 (0.25%) PySpark
5 1 (0.25%) Software Packaging
5 1 (0.25%) SpaCy
5 1 (0.25%) TensorFlow
Miscellaneous
1 23 (5.82%) Management Information System
1 23 (5.82%) Product Ownership
2 21 (5.32%) Onboarding
3 16 (4.05%) Analytical Mindset
4 13 (3.29%) NHS
5 12 (3.04%) Insider Threat
6 11 (2.78%) Driving Licence
7 10 (2.53%) Legacy Systems
8 9 (2.28%) Data Protection Act
9 8 (2.03%) Security Posture
9 8 (2.03%) Virtual Team
10 6 (1.52%) Enterprise Software
11 5 (1.27%) CMDB
11 5 (1.27%) Cyber Defence
11 5 (1.27%) Data Centre
11 5 (1.27%) Security Operations Centre
11 5 (1.27%) Self-Motivation
12 4 (1.01%) Cyber Threat
12 4 (1.01%) Learning Management System
12 4 (1.01%) VSAM
Operating Systems
1 74 (18.73%) Windows
2 17 (4.30%) Windows 10
2 17 (4.30%) Windows Server
3 12 (3.04%) Linux
4 7 (1.77%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 5 (1.27%) VMS
6 3 (0.76%) Mac OS
7 2 (0.51%) Windows Server 2012
7 2 (0.51%) Windows Server 2016
7 2 (0.51%) Windows Server 2019
8 1 (0.25%) Android
8 1 (0.25%) Apple iOS
8 1 (0.25%) Data ONTAP
8 1 (0.25%) Solaris
Processes & Methodologies
1 79 (20.00%) Problem-Solving
2 78 (19.75%) Stakeholder Management
3 52 (13.16%) Continuous Improvement
4 47 (11.90%) Agile
5 44 (11.14%) Data Protection
6 43 (10.89%) Risk Management
7 42 (10.63%) Cybersecurity
8 41 (10.38%) ITIL
9 38 (9.62%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 37 (9.37%) Migration
11 36 (9.11%) Service Management
12 34 (8.61%) Project Management
13 29 (7.34%) Information Security
13 29 (7.34%) Roadmaps
14 28 (7.09%) ITSM
15 27 (6.84%) Decision-Making
16 26 (6.58%) Incident Response
17 24 (6.08%) Contract Management
17 24 (6.08%) Contract Negotiation
18 23 (5.82%) Customer Service
Programming Languages
1 33 (8.35%) PowerShell
2 23 (5.82%) Python
3 16 (4.05%) SQL
4 12 (3.04%) Bash
5 9 (2.28%) Perl
6 6 (1.52%) Kusto Query Language
7 4 (1.01%) COBOL
7 4 (1.01%) JavaScript
7 4 (1.01%) JCL
8 3 (0.76%) Bicep
8 3 (0.76%) C#
8 3 (0.76%) Java
8 3 (0.76%) VB
9 2 (0.51%) PL/SQL
9 2 (0.51%) Rust
9 2 (0.51%) Solidity
10 1 (0.25%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 1 (0.25%) R
10 1 (0.25%) TypeScript
10 1 (0.25%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 86 (21.77%) Security Cleared
2 64 (16.20%) SC Cleared
3 36 (9.11%) Degree
4 27 (6.84%) DV Cleared
5 19 (4.81%) PMP
6 17 (4.30%) PMI Certification
7 10 (2.53%) Cisco Certification
7 10 (2.53%) CTC Cleared
8 8 (2.03%) ITIL Certification
9 7 (1.77%) CCNA
9 7 (1.77%) CCNP
9 7 (1.77%) DBS Check
10 6 (1.52%) BPSS Clearance
10 6 (1.52%) CISSP
10 6 (1.52%) ISEB
11 5 (1.27%) CCDP
11 5 (1.27%) Computer Science Degree
11 5 (1.27%) Microsoft Certification
12 3 (0.76%) A+ Certification
12 3 (0.76%) GIAC
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 53 (13.42%) GDPR
2 24 (6.08%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 16 (4.05%) SLA
4 13 (3.29%) COBIT
4 13 (3.29%) NIST
4 13 (3.29%) PMO
5 12 (3.04%) QA
6 8 (2.03%) Data Quality
6 8 (2.03%) MiFID
7 6 (1.52%) FINRA
8 5 (1.27%) Cyber Essentials
9 4 (1.01%) Accessibility
9 4 (1.01%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 4 (1.01%) EU AI Act
9 4 (1.01%) HIPAA
9 4 (1.01%) PCI DSS
9 4 (1.01%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 3 (0.76%) GRC
10 3 (0.76%) RMADS
10 3 (0.76%) SOC 2
System Software
1 40 (10.13%) Active Directory
2 10 (2.53%) VMware Infrastructure
3 5 (1.27%) Hyper-V
4 2 (0.51%) Docker
4 2 (0.51%) Firmware
4 2 (0.51%) Terminal Services
4 2 (0.51%) Virtual Desktop
4 2 (0.51%) VMware ESXi
4 2 (0.51%) vSphere
5 1 (0.25%) Virtual Machines
Systems Management
1 12 (3.04%) SCCM
2 8 (2.03%) Ansible
2 8 (2.03%) FortiGate
3 7 (1.77%) Terraform
4 5 (1.27%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 2 (0.51%) Cisco Prime
5 2 (0.51%) Computer Emergency Response Teams
5 2 (0.51%) Kubernetes
5 2 (0.51%) NetBackup
5 2 (0.51%) Single Sign-On
5 2 (0.51%) WSUS
6 1 (0.25%) Grafana
6 1 (0.25%) HP UCMDB
6 1 (0.25%) Jamf Pro
6 1 (0.25%) Microsoft Intune
6 1 (0.25%) Red Hat Satellite
6 1 (0.25%) RSA Archer
6 1 (0.25%) SCOM
6 1 (0.25%) SCOrch
6 1 (0.25%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 105 (26.58%) Microsoft
2 27 (6.84%) Cisco
3 21 (5.32%) ServiceNow
4 17 (4.30%) HP
4 17 (4.30%) Oracle
5 15 (3.80%) Dell
5 15 (3.80%) SAP
5 15 (3.80%) VMware
6 13 (3.29%) Citrix
7 10 (2.53%) iManage
7 10 (2.53%) Palo Alto
8 8 (2.03%) OpenAI
8 8 (2.03%) Salesforce
9 7 (1.77%) Canon
9 7 (1.77%) CheckPoint
9 7 (1.77%) Progress
9 7 (1.77%) Red Hat
10 6 (1.52%) Dynatrace
10 6 (1.52%) F5
10 6 (1.52%) Fortinet
949 Legal jobs in the UK excluding London