 The
way forward for Scotland's Social Work
UNISON is the union for social work and social care workers.
We have acted to address the concerns about the service
raised by members working in all sectors. We have established
a Social Work Issues Group. It has raised concerns of members
with employers, the Scottish Executive and the Scottish
Social Services Council (SSSC). The Group all work in Scotland's
social care.
UNISON recently submitted a report to COSLA's working group
reviewing recruitment and retention of socialworkers. The
report also formed the basis for recent discussions with
the SSSC and the Scottish Executive. These are our main
points.
The need for a review
UNISON welcomed the focus that was now being given to social
work. There has been much talk of a "crisis in social work".
Local experience and anecdotal evidence re-inforce this
perception. The COSLA review and the Scottish Executive's
recent initiatives are helping to assess the issues.
A significant issue is the negative portrayal of social
work in the media and the scapegoating of social work staff
when things go wrong. Newspaper editors and politicians
are too ready to highlight individual failings instead of
recognising the enormous achievements of social care with
extremely limited resources. Staff work in difficult circumstances
with the most vulnerable people in the community and UNISON
will challenge negative portrayals of the service and promote
a positive understanding of our members' role.
We think a thorough review is required in Scottish Social
Work. It must look at a range of issues, including pay,
recruitment, training, retention and appropriate resources
to enable staff to carry out their job effectively in safe
conditions and with a level of job satisfaction. It should
look beyond qualified social workers (QSW) and consider
all sections of the social care workforce, including the
impact on the voluntary/independent sector. However, we
recognise that QSW is a benchmark within the service.
Recruitment
Socialwork recruitment is low across all sectors of the
workforce. QSW student intake is down and a shortage of
graduates is leading to significant vacancy levels. However
the interest in social work and social care posts is high
and evidenced by response to adverts.
The general image of the sector and relatively low pay
within the public sector in comparison to the general jobs
market, contribute to recruitment difficulties. Local recruitment
initiatives and market supplements simply seek to attract
a limited workforce pool and cause internal market competition.
They do not increase the workforce numbers, and deal with
the main problem.
Pay
Public sector pay was held back throughout the 1990s, with
the result that earnings fell behind those in the private
sector. However, there were higher rewards for specific
groups within the public sector eg. nurses, who saw their
earnings rise relative to those of their public sector colleagues.
Local government settlements, however, have been at the
lower end of pay rises in the public sector over the past
few years. Recent initiatives on cost-of-living supplements,
location allowances and other targeted payments have also
boosted the earnings of groups such as nurses, police officers
and school teachers.
There have been no similar initiatives for social workers.
Despite a serious national shortage (caused partly by fewer
entering the profession), there has been no targeting of
government money to deal with this problem. Therefore, social
workers' earnings have fallen behind those of other groups.
According to the latest figures*, average gross weekly earnings
for social workers stand at £427, below the averages
for nurses, police officers and teachers, and below the
average for all employees, which stands at £444.
Looking at basic pay, a newly qualified social worker in
Scotland could expect to be paid around £18,600 when
they start, although some councils have offered "golden
hellos" to attract graduates. For most social workers, it
is possible to progress to around £23,000. However,
in an increasing number of councils around the country,
the maximum salary has been boosted above the levels recommended
by the national ‘defined grading scheme', in order to retain
experienced staff. With extra experience and additional
responsibilities, a ‘senior practitioner' can earn up to
£26,000.
Meanwhile, pay modernisation in the NHS and for police
officers looks set to increase earnings for nurses and constables
even further. But the 'single-status' process has yet to
bear fruit in local government, with very slow progress
on other local authority social care staff. The key factor
underlying this appears to be the cost to councils of introducing
single status.
* statistics taken from Comparative Earnings for QSW
1991-2001 an IDS Research Paper Commissioned by UNISON May
2002
Retention
Retention of existing staff is not merely a question of
pay. Neither is it an issue for QSW's alone. Other groups
in the social care workforce are finding staff voting with
their feet, fed up with their working conditions. Workloads
of existing staff have grown and some councils report a
failure to allocate cases quickly enough. Staff are becoming
stressed and low levels of morale are everywhere. In some
areas there are particular pressures on child protection
teams but similar issues exist across all teams.
SWA (SocialWork Assistants) and other non-QSW staff are
being used more often to cover for QSW work. Particularly
in non-child protection work, SWA's may carry complex caseloads,
some times almost identical to QSW caseloads.
Residential care continues to be seen as a lesser service.
It suffers from low morale, staff shortages, lack of resources
and the financial difficulties of the private/not-for-profit
sector. Additional pressures are being exerted on staff
by the closure of children's secure units and the closure
of long-term hospital beds. Day services for both adults
and older people have similar staff shortages and low morale.
Violence and lone working continue to be issues in both
residential and day care.
Home Care Services have been subject to ‘Best Value'reviews
and changes to service delivery and in some cases changes
to terms and condition. Moving towards a 24 hour/7 day personal
care service whilst continually having to compare and compete
with the private sector for varying levels of care and service
provision. Home carers continue to be pressured and under
paid.
The creation of the SSSC and the introduction of regulation
criteria is moving social work into a new era which presents
its own challenges and further pressure on staff. Many staff
will require to attain specific qualifications in order
to register. This will add pressure to individuals and will
distort training budgets.
The introduction of national standards has implications
for workload management and working practices. All of the
above issues contribute to the difficulties with the retention
of staff. UNISON is determined to put these issues on to
the agenda.
The Way Forward
UNISON will push for a improvements
in pay for QSWs in line with improvements enjoyed by other
professional groups. We will also highlight the need for
increased pay for other groups within the social care workforce.
For example, Social Work Assistants who often have heavy
caseloads.
National Occupational Standards/Workforce
Planning
There is no agreed definition for a QSW. Some functions
within legislation identify the need for a QSW but these
are few. However there is a general view that a QSW is required
for many job functions (child protection, court work, etc).
The national job evaluation scheme will evaluate jobs on
the tasks performed and not the qualifications of the post
holder. This creates the possibility of differing pay rates
for QSWs in neighbouring authorities. UNISON has raised
with COSLA, the SSSC and the Scottish Executive the need
for an agreed Scottish definition of what a socialworker
is and can do, and what non-qualified staff cannot. We believe
that this would establish a recognisable and agreed occupational
norm or minimum. This would then assist in the job evaluation
process and ensuring that dilution is ended.
In conjunction with this approach we must look at how the
Scottish Executive can set standards for the number of QSWs
to be employed in each Council area to carry out defined
tasks, giving each QSW a manageable workload. At the same
time we should open discussion on a similar agreed definition
of other posts within the workforce such as Residential
Child Care Workers, Social Work Assistants, etc.
Support for Front-line Staff
The introduction of National Standards and the SSSC codes
for Employers and Employees have implications for workload
management and working practices. Workload management and
professional supervision are minimal due to internal management
pressures and staffing levels and vacancies. This contributes
to a cycle of high absence and sickness rates.
The introduction of ICT is to often systems-led, and has
meant an increase in administrative tasks in assessment
and reporting procedures for professional staff (e.g. single
assessments, and standard hearing reports).
The SSSC should clarify the appropriate levels of supervision,
support and training that staff working in frontline posts
can expect. Other recommendations in this document, if adopted,
would also positively impact on support for front line staff.
Professional Training - open to
all
There is a history of fragmentation of different elements
of the services with different classes in a hierarchical
system of training, pay and management profile. There is
a need for an integrated education and training programme,
clearly defined progression opportunities with linked grading,
through the various elements of the wider spectrum of service.
These aims present different challenges for different sectors.
The new honours degree based QSW is welcomed. However individual
training costs are a disincentive.
We will push for a training regime that allows a member
starting as a home help or social care assistant a route
towards a QSW without needing to leave work for a (unpaid)
period. This could utilise R2L, SVQ, Open University etc.
until the attainment of a QSW is achieved. This would allow
a long term, sustainable answer to planning for future recruitment
and retention. It will require significant investment in
training resources. However we believe that this is essential
for the future of the service and the workforce.
Continuing the Pressure
UNISON Scotland will continue to press for the appropriate
action to be taken on these issues by our employers, the
SSSC and the Scottish Executive. Without this action the
"crisis in Social Work" will be an ongoing and worsening
problem. Most people working in social care know that it
can be a rewarding and personally satisfying career. They
can make a real difference to lives of the most vulnerable
people. UNISON members are committed to providing the highest
levels of care.
UNISON Scotland is committed to campaigning to ensure they
have the pay, resources, support and training to allow them
to achieve these levels. Our Revitalise our Public Services
campaign states that public services should be based on
these and other principles to deliver the public services
Scotland's people deserve.
The Social Work Issues Group would welcome any comments
from members on these issues. Please send them to the address
below.
For further Information, or to join the union that fights
for Scotland's Social Work service and those who deliver
themplease contact Joe Di Paola, Scottish Organiser (Local
Government), UNISON, 60 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3UQ.
Tel 0845 355 0845.
Keep up to date with the campaign by checking the UNISONScotland
website.
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