A lot of confusion about Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) comes down to one misunderstanding: the belief that the person who supervised your work has to be a qualified solicitor. They do not. This single point opens up the SQE route for a huge number of candidates who supervise under managers, team leaders and senior colleagues who are not solicitors. This guide explains the difference between supervising your work and confirming your QWE, and what happens when no solicitor is in the picture.
Two different roles: supervisor and confirming solicitor
The key is to separate two jobs that people often assume are the same:
- Your supervisor is the person who oversaw your work day to day. Their job is simply to corroborate that the work happened and that you did what you say you did. They do not need to be a qualified solicitor, and in many workplaces they are not.
- The confirming solicitor is the person who provides the formal QWE confirmation to the SRA. They review your experience against the competences and give the confirmation. This is the part that requires a solicitor.
Crucially, these do not have to be the same person, and the confirming solicitor does not have to be someone who employed you. That separation is what makes the system workable for candidates whose managers are not solicitors.
Why this matters so much
Once you understand that your supervisor only needs to confirm the work, a whole range of situations becomes straightforward. Paralegals supervised by a non-solicitor team leader, in-house staff reporting to a head of department, charity volunteers overseen by a coordinator, and employees of overseas organisations with no English solicitor on staff can all still build and confirm QWE. The supervisor provides feedback; an independent solicitor provides the confirmation.
What your supervisor actually needs to do
For your supervisor, the ask is light. They need to be willing to confirm, when contacted by the confirming solicitor, that you carried out the work you have described. They are not signing up to any ongoing responsibility, they are not taking on regulatory risk for your qualification, and they do not need to understand the SQE framework. Many supervisors are perfectly happy to give this feedback even where the organisation as a whole never engaged with the QWE process.
What if there is no solicitor at all?
This is the most common version of the question, and it has a clear answer. The SRA allows your QWE to be confirmed by an independent solicitor who did not employ you, provided they review your work and receive feedback from your supervisor. So even if there is no solicitor anywhere in your organisation, you can still get your experience confirmed. The independent solicitor steps into the confirming role; your non-solicitor supervisor provides the feedback.
A paralegal reporting to a team leader
Your manager is experienced but not a solicitor. They can confirm the work you did, and an independent solicitor provides the formal QWE confirmation.
A charity or clinic coordinator
Your volunteering was overseen by a coordinator rather than a solicitor. Their feedback supports independent confirmation of your experience.
An overseas employer with no English solicitor
No one on staff is a solicitor of England and Wales. Your supervisor confirms the work, and an independent solicitor confirms the QWE remotely.
Frequently asked questions
Does my supervisor have to be a qualified solicitor?
No. Your supervisor only needs to confirm the work you did. The formal QWE confirmation is provided by a solicitor, who can be independent of your employer.
What if nobody at my workplace is a solicitor?
That is not a barrier. An independent solicitor who did not employ you can confirm your QWE using feedback from your non-solicitor supervisor.
What is my supervisor actually agreeing to?
Only to confirm, when asked, that you carried out the work you described. They take on no ongoing role and no regulatory responsibility for your qualification.
Can a former supervisor give the feedback?
Yes. If you have left the role, a former supervisor who can be reached and who oversaw your work can provide the feedback for retrospective confirmation.
Who is the confirming solicitor in this case?
It can be an independent confirming solicitor, such as our service, who reviews your evidence, works with you to identify the competences, and obtains your supervisor's feedback before confirming your QWE.
What to do now
If your supervisor is not a solicitor, that does not stand in your way. Tell us about your work using our short form, and we will respond within 24 hours with whether your experience is likely to qualify and how confirmation would work, with no obligation and no payment.