Practitioners have rejected Social Work England’s proposed 33% rise in registration fees, with most saying that the regulator should focus on improving “value for money” instead, in response to a Community Care poll.
The plan, currently subject to a 12-week consultation, would mean fees for joining the register, and for annual renewal, would rise from £90 to £120 from 1 September 2025, before rising by a further 1.85% per year up to 2028-29.
The policy is designed to rebalance the regulator’s funding from taxpayers, who have borne a rising share of its funding since 2020, to social workers, whose registration fees have been frozen since 2015.
‘Improve value for money instead’
However, a Community Care poll with almost 2,000 votes, saw social workers objecting to the regulator’s move.
Most respondents (60%) rejected the proposal outright and said that Social Work England should instead “improve value for money”, while one-third believed the increase could only be justified if practitioners’ salaries were considerably improved.
Only 6% called the rise a “good idea”, in the context of the regulator’s struggles to resource fitness to practise cases.
‘A slap in the face for social workers’
The comments under the related article painted a picture of equally strong opposition, with many readers highlighting the lack of meaningful pay rises for social workers in recent years.
“This is really unfair, considering we haven’t had a pay rise in a long time,” said one practitioner.
“The work continues to get harder and more complex, including increased caseloads [and] less management support. Increasing the registration fee from £90 to £120 per year is just another slap in the face for social workers, who are already struggling to make ends meet.”
Joy called the move ‘unfair’, adding: “As a children’s social worker, my wage is small [and has not increased]. Increasing the fee is a big leap.”
‘It just cannot continue as it is’
Another social worker, Louise, believed the regulator’s aim to save taxpayers money would have been better served by improving working conditions for practitioners.
“The pressures of the job are destroying so many social workers and forcing them to quit or work in survival mode,” she said. “This [puts] pressure on other resources and the very people social workers [support] face the brunt of it all. This costs taxpayers even more!
“I would gladly pay the extra fees if Social Work England started to look at why so many social workers are on their knees. Instead of looking at their fitness/capacity to do the job, do something about what is stopping them and making them so disheartened! It just cannot continue as it is!”
‘Tokenistic’ consultation on proposal
A few readers criticised Social Work England’s consultation as “tokenistic”, with Christine Griffith saying the decision “has clearly already been made”.
She was also critical of the regulator for “excessive” delays to fitness to practise hearings and for its decision not to review a sample of practitioners’ continuing professional development submissions following last year’s registration renewal period.
“Each November, we are pressured to finish our continuing professional development (CPD) requirements, yet this year, they weren’t even reviewed!”
Jo M, who has completed Social Work England’s survey on its proposals, suggested CPD requirements should have been included in the consultation.
“I am really angry at this proposal. I work part-time due to caring responsibilities and would like a similar pay rise as pay awards always fall below the cost of living. I would like to know what I’m paying for and perhaps CPD requirements could have been included in the consultation.”
‘Social workers need to take action’
Others were doubtful whether practitioners would take action to oppose the fee increase.
“There is one thing that social workers can do, but won’t do – get organised across the country and mass refuse to pay the increase,” said Jack. “Employers would get involved as they can’t suddenly recruit hundreds of agency workers.”
He added: “I spent over a year on strike…and suffered enormous financial and psychological stress. We believed in the justness of our actions and, though […] previously good relationships were broken, we kept our jobs and nobody was given a negative reference if they chose to leave.”
Crispy added: “Social work enjoys being oppressed. It’s part of our martyr identity. Real-term pay cuts year on year but take one day for industrial action? Absolutely not, no thanks!”
Petition against rise
On the day of the announcement, some social workers launched an online petition calling for the regulator to rescind its proposal, which has received over 2,400 signatures.
While acknowledging the rising costs of fitness to practise cases, the petition organisers urged the regulator to address the “root causes” of these, such as “excessive caseloads, workplace stress, and inadequate support”, rather than “placing the financial burden on social workers”.
You can respond to Social Work England’s consultation survey until 13 May 2025.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 
Hampshire County Council 
Oxfordshire County Council 
South Gloucestershire Council 
Wokingham Borough Council 
Webinar: building a practice framework with the influence of practitioner voice 
‘They don’t have to retell their story’: building long-lasting relationships with children and young people 
Podcast: returning to social work after becoming a first-time parent 
How managers are inspiring social workers to progress in their careers 
Workforce Insights – showcasing a selection of the sector’s top recruiters 
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Instagram
Exactly, the root causes of “excessive caseloads, workplace stress and inadequate support” need to be addressed. Because of this consistent failure by my managers I left the profession
Social workers should have a say in decisions that affect their professional and financial well-being. Any fee increase must be justified with clear, transparent financial reasoning, showing exactly how the additional revenue will be used to benefit social workers and improve regulatory processes. Without this, the increase appears arbitrary and unfair.
I NEVER put my views on this forum however I have recently seen an increase in social workers leaving the profession. I have been qualified for 6 years and been offered a job in th charity sector. I am tempted to accept this because the stress is too much. I enjoy what i do, i see my CLA children within timescales, but the stress of this role is taking its toll on my health. My GP told me my blood pressure (which I never had before) is off the scales and have prescribed tablets for the first time in my life. Yet here am I asking for your views when I know im stating the bleeding obvious which is, do you think i should leave, heavy paycut but freedom
The rise in fees is not fair as SWE really need to have a full and comprehensive review of the quality of services they provide. Lengthy and unnecessary timescales that add pressure and anxiety for SW. no accountability in what they offer is totally unacceptable
There is no framework they work in
A recent case I’ve been made aware of around a young woman who had 12 years of practice, exemplary record re-registering late due to being hospitalized due to pregnancy related illness which is a protected characteristic late last year – and to date after several email exchanges and the same information asked for on duplicate times queries around if she is fit to practice!!!!!! Now has had her job withdrawn due to not having registration and SWE not giving an indication of the timeframe she is pregnant!!!!! And has no income and is still no further on in getting this archaic administrative process sorted and her reregistration agreed
The additional stress and anxietyy this is causing is just awful and unnecessary
And to rub salt in wounds their response was here is a link about financial support UNBELIEVABLE and so insensitive
The inability to discuss issues with a person and only able to email is absolutely absurd and causes unnecessary delays
As a profession that advocates about quality communication and accessibility and accountability it baffles me that cases and delays like this are frequent and no accountability for SWE to respond
There should be no increase in fees but a fundamental review and improvement in the quality and timelinness of the services
No increament please
I have been a social worker for 28 years and I can only once remember a strike by workers or a work to rule. Social care survives off the manipulation of workers kindness towards children and families and total lack of support for staff ! Yet we remain steadfast in providing a service that does not support its staff , the pay which is poor comparable to other professions, large caseloads , a bullying culture , target driven and poor staff moral !
I have seen newly qualified employees come and go as they decide it’s not for them, it’s not what they signed up for ! It’s my time to leave now as much as I did enjoy my job at one point , too many goalposts are moving , too many staff on sick leave and the team having to cover their workload on top of your own ! The system is well and truly broken and will take a lot to fix it , this isn’t just about money it’s about managers who are employed to bully to meet targets rather than support the staff ! I can no longer voice my concerns without being tarnished as the trouble maker , so off I trot to pastures new , aka retirement and go stack shelves at a supermarket etc lol
The next time I see the Health Secratary speaking at Westminster the following words need to come out of his mouth. ” I am ending Social Work England to enable more money be given to front line staff “. Perhaps this is wishful thinking but this agency must go in order to bring NHS and social servicies together under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Social Care
Half of SWE Board members are not or have been Social Workers. No other professional regulator would let this number of non-registered professional staff background run their organisation. This is relevant at they have no experience of working in the field and the complexities involved. It is also reflected in how little we are heard nationally, either on media or in policy direction/support.
I am looking forward to leaving this profession I once loved due to political interference and lack of professional clarity and support from the very regulatory body which should provide confidence in our roles, not just happily take our money. SWE should stand up for us and get our voices heard – take a leaf out of NMC/GMC
Let alone knowing what it is like to have that level of pay (which is below comparable NHS staff earnings). Then to have such an increase in fees is frankly just not acceptable. This is what happened when the College of Social Work was formed -as a self-funded, non-tax payer subsidised organisation. That lasted a year!
At least my fee will not be renewed when I’ve left.