‘Historic victory’ for Surrey social workers on overtime and workload

Approved social workers have secured a “historic victory” in their dispute with Surrey Council over workloads and unpaid overtime, Unison has claimed.

Under a deal struck between the council and the union, all ASWs will receive a £1,000 goodwill payment, overtime backdated to 1 January 2006 and future overtime payments for working past 5pm.

The ASWs began a work to rule in November after Unison claimed fewer than 40 staff were covering a workload that should have been the responsibility of 72 employees.

The settlement marks a compromise between the two sides’ positions. Unison had claimed a £3,000 one-off payment to settle the dispute, while the council had already offered some backdated overtime payments.

But Unison and the council remain locked in dispute over the authority’s pay offer to staff, which employees took strike action over before Christmas.