Base salary doesn’t change. At associate level they tend to pay everyone at each PQE the same (i.e. all the 4 PQE associates in my team are paid the same as each other) so I don’t think base salary is really affected by performance, at least not at associate level. If you don’t hit the target hours you just don’t get the bonus.

I worked at RPC and can assure you the work was frequently uninteresting and I frequently worked past midnight, all for a catastrophically mediocre salary.

Can’t disclose the precise figure for confidentiality reasons, but as a 4PQE on comfortably less than £10k above the current £95k NQ rate, I’ll just say this: strong performer, top feedback, and very much not an outlier — it’s a pattern, not a pleading. The talent is there; the comp just isn’t (at least not at market levels). That said, the work remains genuinely interesting and motivating, and the people are nice — for now, that’s Exhibit A in why I stay.

Really? How much are 4PQEs being paid then?

Imagine doing interesting work and still be able to log off before midnight