Employers given standards to improve ‘poor support’ for overseas social workers

By Clare Jerrom

Employers have been set standards to tackle the “poor support” received by the UK’s growing band of overseas social workers.

In the wake of a 175.3% rise in the number of overseas applications to register in England from 2019-20 to 2021-22, the British Association of Social Workers’ Diaspora Social Work Special Interest Group has produced the standards to improve recruitment and induction.

This followed feedback that the experiences of overseas social workers had “often been challenging with poor induction and management support”. This included a poll on the Community Care site, which found that 48% of readers believed international practitioners were supported badly, on coming to work in the UK.

Launching the guide at BASW’s annual conference this month, group co-chair Duc Tran said overseas staff faced three key issues in coming to work in the UK.

Lack of support for overseas social workers

Firstly, they lacked support to manage the financial impact of relocation, including travel costs that could exceed £2,000, up-front accommodation costs, potentially topping £3,000 in London, and the need to register before arrival.

Social Work England requires a £495 non-refundable scrutiny fee in addition to the £90 annual registration fee from overseas applicants.

While many local authorities offer a relocation package of up to £8,000, practitioners often could not access the money until after they have moved, while Tran said it could be used up within two months.

Secondly, social workers from overseas often were not given the training and support needed to adjust to working in the UK, said Tran. They also experienced a lack of career progression, with their many skills not always being recognised by managers, he added.

What it’s like for overseas social workers to move to the UK

Pictured: Dr Muzvare Hazviperi Betty Makoni with a group of overseas social workers recruited through Morgan Hunt and trained by Social Care Empowering
Photo credit: Dr Makoni

For World Social Work Day 2023, we examined the experiences of international social workers moving to UK to practise, highlighting the many barriers and challenges they faced along the way, along with the value that they bring to this country’s workforce, in increasing numbers.

Read more in World Social Work Day: the social workers crossing oceans to practise in the UK.

Standards for employers

Under the proposed standards, employers should provide overseas practitioners with a relocation package that at least covers all travel costs, social work registration fees, visa costs and temporary housing.

To help social workers and their families settle in the UK, the guidance says employers should provide access to psychological, medical, educational and cultural support, and offer practitioners a buddy.

Recruiters should allow three years to allow international social workers to adapt to practising in the UK, starting with a well-designed induction programme that should minimise anxieties and set clear expectations.

Overseas social workers should receive review meetings after three, six and 12 months to assess progress, identity training to fill skills gaps and enable them to provide feedback on what is going well and what needs improvement.

Employers should also provide practitioners with a continuing professional development plan, including compulsory training on cultural differences and sensitivities within the UK.

In addition, practitioners should receive coaching and mentoring from senior social workers to help with both their transition and their subsequent career development.

Workforce shortages

The sharp increase in overseas social workers in England has come amid increasing staff shortages, with vacancy rates rising to 20% for local authority children’s services and 11.6% for adults’ services, in the year to September 2022.

Social Work England is anticipating further increases in overseas applications this year, with this being among the reasons that its business plan predicts a £1m increase in registration income this year.

Welsh regulator Social Care Wales, meanwhile, has received 126 applications to register from overseas social workers since October 2022, with 217 people who qualified outside the UK registered as of 9 June 2023.

“International social workers bring with them a wealth of expertise and experience which can be a huge asset to any social work employer,” said Tran and Priya David, his fellow co-chair on the BASW diaspora group, in their foreword to the standards.

“It is our hope that these standards will be used across the UK to ensure international social workers receives the support and training they need to be successful as social workers in the UK and to make a positive difference to their employers and the lives of the people with whom they will work.”

For BASW, chair Julia Ross said: “BASW is delighted to support this publication alongside people with lived experience of migration to the UK, and we look forward to seeing this framework help both social workers, employers and indeed other professionals for many years to come.”