In February, the Department for Education (DfE) announced that councils would be able to exceed regionally agreed agency social work price caps.
When implemented the price caps will limit how much councils can pay to hire locums within their regions and are part of the DfE’s national rules to help curb the use and cost of agency staff in children's services.
Under proposed statutory guidance, leaders would be able to sign off on paying agencies more than the relevant cap, though would have to report this breach to the DfE.
This was despite concerns from the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) that such an action would undermine the rules as a whole.
The price cap plan has already been watered down from the original proposal to limit locum pay to the equivalent of that of permanent staff.
Divided opinion among social workers
Community Care readers were split on that proposal, with half of 742 responses in a Community Care poll opposing them and 45% being supportive.And despite the significant change to the DfE’s policy, a recent poll that drew 656 votes showed there was still a divide in opinion.
While 40% echoed the ADCS’s concerns, arguing that exceeding caps would only serve to drive up costs, another 35% of voters believed that this would sometimes be necessary to fill staffing gaps.
About a quarter of practitioners (26%) thought that price caps shouldn’t be implemented at all.
Agency pay 'misconceptions'
Readers commenting on the related article did not address the issue of whether councils should be able to exceed the caps.Instead, current and former agency workers spoke out about what they saw as misconceptions around agency pay that they implied lay behind the DfE’s efforts to limit the costs of locum work.
“A locum who gets paid £45 per hour does not get this in their pocket,” said Sally, referencing what she called “common misconceptions”.
Celebrate your colleagues
In our new series, My Brilliant Colleague, we're asking you to celebrate each other. Write to us about a colleague's excellent practice or support they've given you in a time of crisis.
You or your colleague have the option to be anonymous and the entries can feature anyone you work with, including team managers, practice educators and students. You can find more information in our nominations form.
Claire Henderson, who has worked both as a locum and a permanent social worker, added that “as a locum, you don’t get sick pay, holiday pay or bank holidays. You have to hit the ground [running] and know all the different systems that are used."
Another practitioner said they would “100% leave the profession” if the caps were implemented.
“We’re already massively underpaid and overworked. This is yet another insult. Councils cannot function without locum social workers, so trying to force their hands is very careless and stupid.”
Share your story
Would you like to write about a day in your life as a social worker? Do you have any stories, reflections or experiences from working in social work that you'd like to share or write about?If so, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com
