BASW: “Workloads are undermining ethical social work practice”…

Social workers’ unmanageable caseloads are making it impossible for them to practice ethically, according to the British Association of Social Workers.  BASW made this claim as they issued a revised version of their code of ethics.

In a recent survey of their members, 82% expressed concern over high caseloads.  According to BASW, existing issues with caseloads are being exacerbated by cuts to local authority funding and resources, which is ultimately having a detrimental effect on service users.

These latest figures support the findings of our own Social Work Survey from 2011.  Liquid Personnel’s social work survey drew attention to the issue of caseloads, and the effect that this could have on service users themselves.  Our results showed 39% of social workers found their caseloads unmanageable, and 69% said their caseloads had increased in the last 12 months.

At the time of our survey, Liquid’s Managing Director Jonathan Coxon commented: “Monitoring employees’ workloads is essential in any industry, but when the safety of vulnerable people is at risk, it becomes so much more crucial.”

LINK: Read more of our social work survey findings on caseloads here