Is a driving licence essential for social work?

 Just a quick question that has been worrying me this week....

If someone is unable to drive for medical reasons (until epilepsy control is regained, after experiencing some breakthrough seizures) could they realistically still expect to get a job, and function properly, as a social worker?

Does anyone have any experience of this with collegues or any ideas as to how it would be viewed generally within the profession?

 

 I do think it depnds upon where you are working.  you usually have to be able to meet the requirements of the post.  If you are visiting people in thier homes and have to rely upon public transport, then it needs to be good.  if you are applying for a rural post then I doubt if you could fulfill the job spec.

I manage a rural team and the transport is terrible.  I felt unable to take a student on placement who didnt drive because of this. Equally our job specs require a valid driving licence. 

When I worked in an urban team we had a number of social workers who didnt drive and got on just fine.

If you are already in a position then they will have to support you under DDA.  I have a colleague who has been in the same situation and we altered her role for a year until she got her licence back.

if you are applying for jobs it might be best to speak to HR departments or maybe an employment agency could help and tell you which employers would accept someone without a licence?

 

Goodd luck 

 

 

 

 

I drive for my job and its part of my contract to provide a road worthy car.  I do have collegues who do not drive at all but there are undercurrents that they do not carry as many cases as time is spent on public tranport.  How true that is I am not sure everyone I work with always seems very busy.  It would appear not to be essential but may just create a bit of thinking about thats all.  You should remember that you cannot be discriminated against on the grounds that you have epilepsy.

 We get audited once a year for our driving record. we must have a valid

license because we cover so much aea, public transportation is out of the question. =)

Many LAs require you to have a driving licence as part of the job requirements.  For practical reasons of visiting your clients at home it is much quicker by car and more time efficient than by public transport.  You may also be required to use your car to carry clients as passengers, especially so in the case of children.  You will also need to make sure your insurance covers you for business use.  The main exception to this appears to be in city based teams where traffic and parking make public transport the quicker and most efficient travel option.

Hi there,

when I qualified (many moons ago) I did not drive, however the local authority that I worked for was very small and public transport was very good. Actually, I have only been driving for 2 years and I can honestly say it did not affect my previous positions. Howver, I will say that having my licence has enabled me to widen my job opportunites and, within my current post (rural) I would not be able to carry out my social work duties without a licence. I have several colleagues who work within city hospital social work teams and they do not drive, nor do they have the desire to. Good luck.

Thanks everyone.

Technically if I can regain my seizure control quickly, with the help of a good neurologist, I should be able to regain my licence by the time I have finished my course- that's what I am hoping anyway!  I was seizure free for 10 years, I am sure I can get to that state again within the two years of my course, as well as now drugs etc have moved on so much.

And otherwise, from what you say, it seems that it will probably be a case of applying for jobs within the city or urban teams near me, rather than the rural areas.   I probably live in a really good location actually, as I can take my pick of any of those type of teams, within half an hour's public transport of my home!

You have put my mind at rest anyway- I had been starting to wonder whether this would mean I should just put my course and career hopes on hold, yet again.  

I have been in social work qualified for six years and I've never drove. I've always worked in busy teams and whilst I have to rely on public transport to get around, I dont have many issues. I agree with the other posts regarding taking rural posts and not driving, however I have just as many cases as my colleagues and some that are out of city and in High Court in London (I live in the Midlands). I had health issues as a child regarding epilepsy and got a clear bill of health later on, but have never drove. I also work within a good team that if I need a second worker to accompany they can usually assist (as do I when they need one). Team work can assist greatly, as does really hot time management strategies.

Hopefully you'll get the condition under control, but don't let not having a driving license defer your decision to come into the profession.

Regards markam 

 

I worked with a girl years ago who had epilepsy . She was in her final year and ours was her final placement. She had never held a driving licence although everyone else in the team did and as far as Im aware it was a job requirement. Unfortunately her seizure control was difficult and she eventually left . Had she decided to continue there was a job for her within our team. Unfortunately there was still a bit of discrimination around .i.e well I wont be giving her lift etc etc . The team leader was superb and politely but firmly reminded everyone our job was not solely dependant on being able to drive. You have DDA protection from the minute you apply for a job and a reasonable adjustemnt in your case could simply be having clients who lived in roughly the same area to enable you to provide an excellent service ,albeit in a greatly reduced geographical area.

It appears to be the case that it is. I qualified last year and have never held a driving license. I have had no luck whatsoever in accessing paid work, despite a 'high 2:1 result and good references, not even getting interviews with local councils or employment agencies. I have now stopped applying for posts which specifically ask for social workers and instead apply for related jobs such as support work.

As others have said, it depends very much on geography. I don't drive but I work in central London - even the people who can drive, don't. 

I am certainly aware that some people (sight impaired for example) have had a very succesful career in social care and although where you work and the transport infrasture does impact it is not impossible to carry on working. Earlier in the year I had a seizure (not associated with epilepsy) and voluntarilly gave up driving - the DVLA after six months permitted me to drive again. I cannot say it did not impact upon my capacity to do the business as it was certainly inconvenient and sometimes a little troublesome within a largly rural environment - however, it was remarably manageble and certainly posible. I think, after 30 years of driving, the 'thought' of using public transport and being without a car was actually far, far worse than the actual experience. In fact, in many instances it was cheaper (no car parking fees) but in other aspects more time costly (waiting time between connections for transport). We drivers do rather get over-reliant on our vehicles and overlook sometimes, in fact, far more superior and sensible options. So much so was my experience, I have now taken a less car centric approach and decide journey by journey if I use my car or take public transport. So queenb, you carry on - if you experience predjudice on not driving on medical grounds, you should challenge the presumptions that having wheels is actually necessary. Wilt

I work in a London Borough and although I can drive, and have a car, choose not to.  I get a better mileage rate for using my bike and it is often quicker.  Just occasionally I have to get either public transport and and lift from colleagues, but it is usually not a problem.  If I have to transport a child, then a cab is called for me and although this generally takes a bit longer as you have to wait for the cab to come, it has not been a problem and I don't need to worry about getting lost or parking.

 Many of my colleagues do not have a license.  Choose carefully where you work and it shouldn't be a problem.

 Thanks for all your input on this question.  It's been very helpful, and encouraging. It has helped me to move onto accepting the loss of my licence, as I now know it won't jeapordise my career choice, too greatly, especially as I have been hoping to relocate back to the london area anyway once qualified- although I still hope the loss of licence will be temporary!

For social workers who cannot drive due to a disability, assistance can be sought via Access To Work (DWP) as long as you have a condition covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. ATW will assess and may provide costs of transport if you cannot use public transport, equipment or other assistance required to do your job.Its also worth checking if the LA has a staff group for disabled workers as they can be contacted before you make your application.It’s also worth noting that LA’s need to complete Equality Impact Needs Assessments (EINA) on policies. This includes looking at staff with disabilities to see if they are fully supported to complete their work.Don’t give up!

Mole

I'm an OT and have worked in a social work department for nearly 9 years and I have never driven a car in the course of my work. I have a driving licence, but I choose to live in a city centre where I don't need a car for personal use. I used to work in the city centre, and used buses or walked, now I work slightly further out and use my bike or buses. Several of my colleagues over the years have had no driving licence or no car. It would be a problem in a different geographical area, I'm sure, but that's not where I chose to work.