By Charlotte Webster-
Adult social workers in South Gloucestershire have walked out over the payment of a £3,000 retention fee to those working with children and families.
Social workers took to the picket line in South Gloucestershire earlier this month. Picture: Unison
There are protesting against a payment not offered to social workers working with educational therapists, but offered to all children and family social workers “in eligible posts” as an annual uplift for those with two years of more service , and a separate £3,000 recruitment payments offered to children and family social workers who have completed their assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE), paid following the completion of a three to-six-month probationary period.
Workers have so-far staged six days of strikes over the issue with Unison arguing that “more staff should receive the supplement”. The latest strike took place on 12 June.
Dan Smart, branch secretary of Unison South Gloucestershire said: “Of course, we support pay rises for all workers, but when my colleagues and I at South Gloucestershire council found out we were to be underpaid by £3,000 per year in comparison to children’s social workers, we felt insulted and angry.
“Adult social workers have exactly the same qualifications as children’s and are facing very similar challenges in recruitment and retention.
“With the cost-of-living crisis, many are having to vote with their feet and go to where the pay is better. Some of our members have had to take second jobs just to make ends meet for their families.”
A South Gloucestershire council spokesman said: “We are disappointed that Unison has proceeded with strike action, given our continuing focus on delivering our workplace action plan which addresses issues staff tell us matter most. Staff in all roles in adult social care undertake vitally important work in our communities in South Gloucestershire.
“We very much hope that Unison will continue to engage with us on the actions agreed after the last period of industrial action.”
A recent investigation by CYP Now, based on the responses to a Freedom of Information request sent to all 151 top-tier English local authorities, found that more than one in 10 councils now offers a retention package to social workers often in teams with high turnovers.
In 2022, children’s services lost 5,400 full-time equivalent social workers, up almost a tenth on the previous year, latest Department for Education figures show.
The figures reveal that the number of social workers has fallen for the first time since 2017 while both caseloads and sickness rates increase.
Of the 95 councils that responded, almost one third now offer a recruitment payment – known as “golden hellos” – of at least £1,000 to attract staff, with 45 per cent introducing them in the last three years.
Meanwhile, mental health social workers are also expecting to strike over what their union has dubbed “chronic staffing issues” within their teams.
Barnet UNISON has applied to the union’s national industrial action committee to approve an industrial action ballot for members across the London borough’s north and south mental health teams and approved mental health professional (AMHP) service.
The union have asked the council to extend its recruitment and retention policy (RRP), under which staff are given market supplements of up to 25% of salary, to the mental health practitioners. The council has applied this to its family services social workers for the past six years.
However, Barnet UNISON said it had had no meaningful response from the council since lodging a dispute on the issue in March this year.