Conduct: Essex social worker suspended from GSCC register

The General Social Care Council has suspended a social worker for 18 months after he continued to work despite having a temporary exclusion order from the social care register.

The social worker received the six-month ban in January 2007 when the GSCC began investigating allegations of inappropriate relationships.

Manager blew the whistle

The prior allegations dated back to 2004 and 2005, when the social worker, then working for Southend Council, was found to have broken the code of practice by forming inappropriate relationships with two “vulnerable” parents of children in need. He received a three-year admonishment.

Dishonesty

At the hearing in London this week, the committee found the social worker’s dishonesty in ignoring the exclusion order amounted to misconduct. Panel members noted that he been cautioned by police in June 2007 for using the title of social worker while being officially suspended, a breach of the 2000 Care Standards Act.

But the committee decided to impose a suspension rather than remove the social worker from the register because he had admitted misconduct and his actions had not placed any service users at risk.

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Expert guide to conduct

External information

General Social Care Council – information on conduct