Pay rise to fill posts comes under fire

West Sussex Council’s decision to increase salaries for social
workers in children’s services has been criticised by Unison and
the Local Government Association.

Owen Davies, senior national officer at Unison, last week warned
that the decision was not good for team working across a
department. He said pay should be determined by job evaluation,
duties and responsibilities, not by staff shortages.

John Ransford, director of education and social policy at the LGA
warned that the move could lead to an “auction approach” to
staffing.

The council announced two additional pay increments for children’s
services social workers last month in a bid to tackle high
vacancies (news, 8 April, page 7).