Agreed, Dave.

No one is saying “ban agency social workers”. No one is saying locum social workers aren’t valuable – obviously, agency pay has to be commensurate with the lack of benefits (sick pay, holiday pay, pension). The problem is that many agencies (and an unsettlingly high number of agency SWs) are profiteering.

Locum work should pay fairly, it should not pay a king’s ransom – and the rates we’re seeing are so obscene that they call the integrity of the profession into question.

Well said Roxy

1- Government to spend more, initially to bring caseload numbers down, reinstate Social Work Assistants. To enable Social Workers to prioritise statutory tasks instead of doing passport applications, finance requests, supervising every family time and other tasks which are delaying statutory duties.
2- Permanent staff pay increase matching the pressures Social workers deal with on the daily. Review terms and conditions.
3- Agency staff to have representation and a voice on pay, conditions and benefits if HMRC view as an ’employee’, albeit a pretend umbrella employer who doesn’t offer more than being an accountant.

The state of the profession is not due to Social Workers, agency or permanent. It is underfunded, undervalued and forgoten about. HMRC targeting agency staff for more tax is clearly more important than all Social Workers getting paid what they deserve, MORE!. That is clear as policy moves fast when it comes to tax, but not so fast when we are talking about improving the role of Social Worker and making it more manageable (points above have been requested over a decade)

I have worked with some great Social Workers both agency and permanent. I do not see the two as different if they keeping children safe and improving outcomes, but that is just me having Social Work values.

I am proud to be a Social Worker and I’m still optimistic things will change. That we will be respected for the professionals we are.

Before you go looking at penalising colleagues, please ask any Social Worker what will make their job easier and more manageable, simple

If you want to join the locum club please do. When you have 200 pounds after paying bills and unable to care for your children, that’s when you understand why people go locum.

Absolutely, getting to the nub of the problem.
More consultation = more delay and inactivity disguised as being seen to do something.

Very true. And don’t forget the dinosaur recruiting processs that keeps the same in the top jobs.

Capping agency staff at a reasonable comparable level isn’t a bad idea, but it should take into account a lack of job security, pension contribution costs and sickness insurance costs to the council in order to make it fair.