The move from Justice Secretary David Gauke is meant to plug the gap on the High Court bench, where more than a tenth of posts lie vacant.

An allowance worth 25 per cent of judges’ basic salary will replace the 11 per cent additional payment brought in two years ago. This means that the total package for High Court judges will increase by almost 13 per cent over last year and will be boosted further by a pay rise in October.

The increases follow a review by the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB).

The SSRB recommended a 32 per cent allowance for High Court judges, 22 per cent for Crown Court judges and eight per cent for those in the district courts.

The allowances are temporary until there is an outcome to an ongoing legal case over judges’ pension rights.

Mr Gauke said: “Our judges are a cornerstone of our democratic society – their experience draws billions of pounds worth of business to the UK, and without them, people cannot get justice.

“We have reached a critical point. There are too many vacancies and with the retirement of many judges looming we must act now before we see a serious impact on our courts and tribunals.

“Judges are in a unique position and once they join the bench are not permitted to return to practice. Without the best legal minds in these seats everyone that uses our courts will suffer, as will our international reputation.

“This temporary allowance, pending long-term pension scheme change, will enable us to continue to attract the brightest and best and prevent delays to potentially life-changing decisions.”

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, and the senior president of tribunals, Sir Ernest Ryder, said: “It is an important step which we are confident will have a significant effect on addressing critical shortages in the judiciary.

“Judges understand very well how delays to the cases they decide can affect the people and businesses involved. They do their utmost to ensure cases are dealt with both promptly and fairly, but are nonetheless concerned that there is an urgent need to recruit enough judges to tackle the workload in a sustainable way.

“Judges are conscious that they are well paid compared to most in the public sector. They are continually finding ways to make the administration of justice more efficient both through the modernisation programme being run by HMCTS and more widely. We are pleased that the government are taking action to address the serious difficulties faced in recruiting to the judiciary.”