Over many years of being a locum worker I have witnessed the ‘sicky, sicky brigade’ taking copious amounts of time off…Some of it genuine, other times not!

As for eroding pay – utter nonsense!

If it wasn’t for locums most LA’S would not have a service. As for your comment about ‘permanent staff stick around longer’ that’s your choice and of course there are benefits too.

If we don’t work, we don’t get! Not all that glitters is golden.

There’s also 20 years of work; Then of course, 20 years experience. I prefer the latter and haven’t completely burnt out. I feel being a locum has helped with this. I also take social work very seriously indeed. In 20 years I have never ‘just walked away’.

My advice, if you can’t beat us join us and come out of your comfort zone!

Unsure what planet you are on Maverick..As a Children and Families SW, hroughout the pandemic I continued with my role as best I could. That meant visiting children. Yes, there were times I couldn’t go into a home.

Colleagues and myself worked tirelessly to do our very best.

I cannot speak for Adult Services.

Last year I spent 5 nights in intensive care with COVID, not ideal I know. However, on the whole my care was fantastic.

Try looking at the positives more.

At present I have an excellent manager..(rare I know).

For me, now a combination of working at home and office suits me just fine. Before we had to go on ‘bended knee’ to even get one day!

How does “Want the challenge? Stay and fight” square with the ease with which “locum” staff walk away if their personal expectations aren’t met? We all eork to earn so nothing unique there. As for “delivering to stay in the job” and “rescu(ing) departments and ” fresh ideas” I think you forget that permanent staff stick around longer, commit harder if for no other reason that we have to give at least one month notice to leave and don’t walk out after 2 weeks on the job as the last 3 agency workers have in my team. I don’t like pitting worker against worker but I also know that irrespective of their individual qualities agency workers erode our pay and conditions, are more likely to be risk averse, ” deliver” what managers want rather than challenge them. If you as a SM advocate use of agency wirkers rather than agitate for filling your vacancies with permanent staff than I think you are unable to ensure our mental wellbeing and keep up our enthusiasm.

Thank you Lena. I would be very keen to see the research you refer to. I will connect with you.

Mike, good insight on resilience vs lack of support…and good writing too : )

My family member was dumped in to a care home out of the NHS rehab facility they were in. Social workers based in this city did this without a single nod to safeguarding or the laws there to protect- which weren’t rescinded.

Not a single one questioned the safety of dumping an extremely vulnerable adult in to a facility rampant with covid.
Not one took on board that moving someone hundreds of miles from the family giving active support into a setting where not a single cultural need would be met would be catastrophic.
No BIA and forced against will and unlawfully to be moved. Social workers wrote to family stating the facility was only over an hour away by train so counted as appropriate and easy to reach. Family already actively supporting 2 other severely disabled relatives.

2 1/2 yrs later they are still dumped there against their will and clearly held unlawfully. The social workers allocated – the same ones that claimed how easy it was to get to see our loved one- refused to visit in person for over 2 yrs as claimed they were now only working remotely so weren’t required to. Attempted BIAs over the phone ,delegating this function to unqualified care home staff who repeatedly told the LA they couldn’t do this as not skilled enough and overwhelmed with care work .On someone with such severe cognitive impairment they can’t even manage telephone calls to very close family and have severe memory loss.

As a direct result these same social workers failed to assess adequately or at all. They didn’t even pick up on the basics and refused to listen to family, to care home staff. They have wrecked the life of someone of working age who needed and wanted to be close to the family providing essential support and culturally appropriate care.

To claim victimhood when the profession actively defended not doing face to face work is to our family pretty abhorrent under the circumstances. The profession has failed so many because the profession didn’t want to go in to work – when the Coronavirus Act specifically stated that statutory services were required to continue. Where there were no amendments to the MCA. Where there was no easement of the Equality Act. Where to refuse to comply with with the Care Act required set legal steps. Steps this LA never took.

You can’t do social work remotely. How many reports about vulnerable children and adults being failed throughout the pandemic will it take before the profession takes responsibility for the horrific mess now in. Yes there are pressures that couldn’t be mitigated for but a lot of harm has been caused by the decisions social workers took when decided not to do what society expected and to go in to work. It is unacceptable for social workers to work remotely. They cannot do the job needed and the victims in this are not the professionals.

Nail head