UNISON and Community Care launch website to support social care professionals

UNISON and Community Care have launched a new website today to support social care professionals.

The Workplace Zone brings together Community Care and UNISON content to better support UNISON’s 350,000 social care members; 40,000 of which are social workers.

Helga Pile, UNISON national officer for social care and social work, said: “The Workplace Zone brings together the best of Community Care and UNISON to help social care professionals in their job and to protect their rights at work. You can navigate these pages to find out the latest social care news and updates on what UNISON is doing all in one place.”

“It’s great to be working with Community Care on this. We want to use this site to build on the joint campaigns we’ve been doing around the social work contract so we can be even more effective on speaking up on the issues that matter to you,” she added.

The site will include regular features and advice to help social care professionals at work.

It provides access to discounts for UNISON members – including money off Community Care services such as conferences, subscription and Inform – the information source for professionals working with children and families. There are also details on discounts UNISON has negotiated with various learning providers to support social care professionals with their learning and development.

Forums, hosted within Community Care’s popular CareSpace, are another aspect of the site. “We hope to use these forums to gain instant feedback on the issues of the day so that UNISON can use them in our discussions with government, policy-makers and also take them into the work of the Social Work Reform Board,” said Pile.

You can also read our new blog by Simon, a Unison social work rep and approved mental health professional, as he battles to support UNISON members deal with the impact of the public spending cuts.

“It’s a tough job,” blogs Simon. “Had to cancel UNISON meeting with the council as another of my client’s came into crisis, saying she was going to kill herself today.”

But he adds: “Hopefully UNISON can make some difference because no one else will. We have had successes in the local branch so we can carry that forward as confidence-building for the future.”

If you have any questions about the site, email Ruth Smith, Community Care’s head of content.

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