With nearly 7,000 agency workers in children’s social care services, many are threatening to leave if the government goes ahead with proposed reforms.
The government’s plans are to only engage agency workers within nationally agreed price caps from Spring 2024.
They are proposing that social workers who graduated in or after April 2024 should demonstrate a minimum of five years post-qualified experience working within local authority children’s social care before they can take on an agency appointment.
As well as this, they are planning to prevent the engagement of agency workers for a period of three months after they have left a substantial role within the same region.
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) findings revealed that children’s social workers who work as temps through agencies predict that the impact of the proposed reforms will see colleagues quit and children receive worse care.
Kate Shoesmith, REC Deputy Chief Executive, said, “The survey adds to our call on government to fundamentally review these proposals. Social workers turn to agencies primarily to help them manage their work/life balance.
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Email Jaime“We need to recognise the reasons why social workers make this choice and then we, the recruitment sector, will happily work with government and others on better solutions than the ones in this consultation.
“As experts in workforce planning, recruitment and retention strategies, it’s what our members do for several other clients across both the public and private sectors every day.
“The loss of agency staff in anything like the proportion indicated by this survey will give vulnerable children even less chance of getting the care they need.
“Half of the agency workers who responded and said that these reforms would make them leave the profession, are over 46 years old. This is a blow to a government that is keen to retain over 50s in the workforce to help overcome labour shortages and grow the economy.”
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