A profession dogged by long hours and low pay

I agree. I'm a social worker in America who was done this job for the past 5 years, and feel like I'm totally treading water, especially after investing $30,000 on a college degree that is certainly not paying off in this field. I'd take something else if it paid more and offered career advancement.

I don't see the wages increasing at all in the U.S. There is no profit to be made, so private business stays away, and taxpayers typically aren't willing to spend money to support people (the clients, consumers, etc.) who are seen as chronically unable to contribute to society, so, for all the empty praise people may give it, it's really not a valued profession and will likely stay that way.

When the average wage in Uk is £23,000 pa, and when most of the clients we are ever likely to deal with are never ever likely to earn (if they can earn at all)even £12,000 pa I think that a renumeration of £32,000 is very good, generous even. Let us contrast this with a single person's Job Seeker Allowance which is a mere £59 a week (and under 25's a mere £34 a week).

I am a manager (social work qualified) of a hostel for sex offenders - an important part of the 'safeguarding' strategy one would hope. I work in the voluntary sector and my salary cannot be called generous at £28,500 for all the responsibilities which I shoulder. However, this job has its own rewards which includes watching men grow and develop and move on. Previously I came out of Local Authority mental health social work (Senior Practitioner with student social worker responsibilities) where my economic reward was circa £37,000. However my career was stultified and I needed my present job so that I could develop my career in social work management. So it's very much a 'swings and roundabouts' profession where financial reward isn't everything. Professional development and personal satisfaction must also play their part.

As to 'overtime' - well,social work has never been a completely '9 -5' job, much less a 'job-and-finish' occupation like, say the construction industry. What duty social worker, at 4.45 PM on a Friday is going to say to a caller - "sorry, I'm off home - leave a message and we will deal with it on Monday"? No one I hope.

However, where working long hours has become the norm and the acceptable working culture then something is clearly wrong and management needs to be challenged about it. Overwork is never a good thing and affects efficiency which in turn will effect service delivery.

I agree I am a year into child protection work and love the work with a passion however that on its own is not enough. I am currently paid £25k(endlessly awaiting pay rise) and constantly work over 40 hours per week, it is expected and the norm. I am on at least duty once a week where there is an expectation you will be at work until the job is done which can mean working untill 11pm at night (from 8am in the morning) with no renumeration for unsociable hours or overtime. My caseload and the endless paperwork is constantly unmangeable and I have been allowed to start my PQ in september with a warning that the one day off a week to attend lectures and study can not affect my performance figures. It saddens me to think that the profession has been in this state for so many years with no progress and that so many individuals have had to give up the fight and become resigned to the status quo or leave. I too have worked in other professions and been paid more than this and I think its only reasonable that we recongise just how difficut this work is and start working together to tackle poor pay and conditions. By the way I cant possibly understand why one would feel it appropriate to compare a social work salary with that of their clients, do we do the same with any other professions?

As a social worker in a Duty and assessment team who has been qualified for ten years I am hopeful that the Taskforce will have some success in providing a reality check to the Government about the current crisis within the social work profession.
If Local Authorities do not offer a more realistic salary in keeping with other professions then experienced staff like myself are unlikely to remain in posts as they feel undervalued,overworked,underpaid.
I entered this profession because I was passionate about improving people's lives but this does not mean that I shouldn't earn a decent salary that is equal to the level of responsibility,experience and risks involved.
I am still paying off a student loan,raising two children as a single parent and like most social workers have little money left once all the bills are paid!
The problem as i see it is that until the Social Care profession is better valued with ringfenced resources and Social Workers being paid in line with other professions then experienced Social Workers will continue to leave the profession and go and work in a less demanding job elsewhere.

I find it incredulous that 'Cockney Boy' should try and compare social workers salaries with their clients..Think about it? a solicitor charges upwards of £ 150 per hour, while the typical wage earner get around £ 15 per hour...
Theres no way they would accept this.Yet, the most expereinced social workers have similiar levels of skills, experience, knowledge and qualifications..

I've over 15 years experience as a qualified senior sw, and I'm qualified to masters degree level, plus PQCCA, Ist degree etc, arguably I should be paid more than the £ 15 per hour I recieve... Theres no wonder the L.A's are loosing their more experienced child protection & court trained staff... As for Cockney boy, why dont you try a stint in child protection and court work.. you would soon be asking for a pay rise....

i do believe that social workers are greatly undervalued but why are social workers not going on strike? perhaps that will show people the valuable work social workers do.Whenever i tell people that i am studying social work, they raise an eyebrow and will say, oh that's a difficult job why do you what to do that? anyway i am passionate about what i am doing at the moment but will i feel the same once i graduate and i am trown into a lion's den? let's just wait and see what happens?

I completly agree with! If a good salary isnt offered in this day and age then most are going to leave for something better.

I am a social worker (qualified 3 years) currently working in a community mental health team. Similar to the majority of social workers, I strongly feel that whilst I enjoy my job, our profession should be offered a better salary, especially considering the constant pressure our job role puts us under.At times I query whether I shouldve studied a different degree at university?

With regards to studying for the degree, I felt that it was my placements which I learnt most from, rather than the classroom.