Applicant driven to distraction

“Your sins will find you out” is a phrase increasingly likely to
strike a chord with social workers registering with the General
Social Care Council if one worker’s experience is anything to go
by.

The man, who has 21 years’ experience as a social worker, sent off
his application in July.

He later received an e-mail from the GSCC, asking for details of
six speeding fines he had clocked up in 30 years of driving. “I
couldn’t believe it. The first fine I got was in the 1970s,” he
said.

Another month passed before another e-mail arrived, saying the GSCC
could not trace the fines.

The man says: “They were minor and would have been deleted, having
happened 20 odd years ago.”

A letter last week asking for yet more details, was the final
straw. “It’s this sort of thing that gives the profession a bad
name.”

One thing went right, however: his £30 annual fee was
processed without a hitch.

The GSCC said: “Being a registered social worker carries with it
serious responsibilities and the registration process checks a
number of areas including convictions.”