Agency Social Workers – Letter to Community Care
16th September 2010
Agency social workers play a vital role in teams throughout the UK, as demonstrated by a letter from Liquid Personnel which was published recently in Community Care.
Our Managing Director wrote to the magazine’s Editor in response to an article which discussed the cost of agency social workers, offering another viewpoint, and explaining the benefits of using temporary practitioners. The letter is reproduced in full below, along with a link to it as published on the Community Care website.
“Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to the article on your website on September 1st, concerning the cost of agency social workers, which claimed that they could be costing councils £70m more than if permanent staff were used. I was surprised to read that a comparison was drawn between an experienced agency worker and a newly qualified permanent staff member.
Has this taken into account the investment in time and resources needed to train and develop a newly qualified social worker to the required standard, where an experienced temporary member of staff would already be suitably equipped and able to hit the ground running? This is before one considers the additional costs associated with permanent staff, including sick pay and of course pensions, which the agency worker would not accrue.
Yes, the ratio of agency workers compared to permanent staff does need to be managed, and it is of course important to have the stability of a permanent workforce. But the existence of a significant temporary workforce is a symptom of the issues within the industry, rather than a cause.
With teams across the UK suffering from chronic understaffing, unmanageable caseloads and high staff turnover, it’s impossible to ignore the value of having specialised and experienced practitioners who can move to the areas of greatest need and make an immediate impact.
I sincerely hope that agency workers will continue to be appreciated for the vital role they play in relieving pressure and enabling teams to meet the needs of service users.
Kind Regards,
Jonathan Coxon, Managing Director, Liquid Personnel”
Link: Community Care – Letters to Editor – September 16th 2010
We are always looking to recognise the exceptional work done by our social workers, take a look at the details of our ‘Temp of the Month Award’, and read about the latest monthly winner.
