In February, the Department for Education (DfE) announced that councils would be able to exceed regionally agreed agency social work price caps.
When implemented the price caps will limit how much councils can pay to hire locums within their regions and are part of the DfE’s national rules to help curb the use and cost of agency staff in children’s services.
Under proposed statutory guidance, leaders would be able to sign off on paying agencies more than the relevant cap, though would have to report this breach to the DfE.
This was despite concerns from the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) that such an action would undermine the rules as a whole.
The price cap plan has already been watered down from the original proposal to limit locum pay to the equivalent of that of permanent staff.
Divided opinion among social workers
Community Care readers were split on that proposal, with half of 742 responses in a Community Care poll opposing them and 45% being supportive.
And despite the significant change to the DfE’s policy, a recent poll that drew 656 votes showed there was still a divide in opinion.
While 40% echoed the ADCS’s concerns, arguing that exceeding caps would only serve to drive up costs, another 35% of voters believed that this would sometimes be necessary to fill staffing gaps.
About a quarter of practitioners (26%) thought that price caps shouldn’t be implemented at all.
Agency pay ‘misconceptions’
Readers commenting on the related article did not address the issue of whether councils should be able to exceed the caps.
Instead, current and former agency workers spoke out about what they saw as misconceptions around agency pay that they implied lay behind the DfE’s efforts to limit the costs of locum work.
“A locum who gets paid £45 per hour does not get this in their pocket,” said Sally, referencing what she called “common misconceptions”.
Celebrate your colleagues
In our new series, My Brilliant Colleague, we’re asking you to celebrate each other. Write to us about a colleague’s excellent practice or support they’ve given you in a time of crisis.
You or your colleague have the option to be anonymous and the entries can feature anyone you work with, including team managers, practice educators and students. You can find more information in our nominations form.
“By the time you have paid agency fees, national insurance, the weekly fee for umbrella and tax you probably come out with around £780 per week,” she added.
Claire Henderson, who has worked both as a locum and a permanent social worker, added that “as a locum, you don’t get sick pay, holiday pay or bank holidays. You have to hit the ground [running] and know all the different systems that are used.”
Another practitioner said they would “100% leave the profession” if the caps were implemented.
“We’re already massively underpaid and overworked. This is yet another insult. Councils cannot function without locum social workers, so trying to force their hands is very careless and stupid.”
Share your story
Would you like to write about a day in your life as a social worker? Do you have any stories, reflections or experiences from working in social work that you’d like to share or write about?
If so, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com
Assistive technology and dementia: practice tips 
A trauma-informed approach to social work: practice tips 
Find out how to develop your emotional resilience with our free downloadable guide 
Develop your social work career with Community Care’s Careers and Training Guide 
‘Dear Sajid Javid: please end the inappropriate detention of autistic people and those with learning disabilities’
Ofsted calls for power to scrutinise children’s home groups
Seven in eight commissioners paying below ‘minimum rate for home care’
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Instagram
The issue remains that droves of people are leaving local authority social work employment all for their individual reasons but a collective view that it does not meet their needs often in my experience due to poor management approaches and subsuming social work values to the needs of other organisations.
Trying to squeeze agencies workers by reducing their rates does not address the reasons why people are leaving local authorities.
I would be fascinated to see the actuarial figures for access to private pensions, holiday pay and sick to compare with rates paid by local authorities. I strongly suspect the figures simply don’t bear any credible scrutiny. Or is the suggestion that locum workers don’t deserve these ?
The government is to blame, especially Hammond when he stopped IR35 then stopped claiming for working away expenses ( that mps get lots of). Many locums work away, councils now have up pay to compensate, some even give a weekly accommodation allowance, to attract workers to more remote areas that do not have a liocal pool of talent. HMRC saves miney, council tax payers now foot the bill.
How about the DFE has a look at why social workers are leaving in droves from local authorities. And let’s be honest about it, pay is a significant issue. Social workers are the forgotten and hidden profession. We only hit the headlines when it all goes wrong, and we virtually never strike, too bloody exhausted probably and a weak union! We see teachers, health professionals, all getting rises, private sector wage growth os on the up as well…nothing for social workers, councils can’t afford it because of diabolical government funding. So it’s no surprise that the DFE are once again demonising social workers, with agency caps..just one more nail in the coffin, these agency workers left for a reason and this won’t drive them back, they will leave social work and add to the recruitment crisis. Agency workers get no holiday pay, no sick leave, no pension contributions, they pay employees and employers national insurance, agency fees etc so are not minted. What happens when a LA can’t recruit even agency workers…fees offered go up again..seen this soany times now its boring…DFE sort out why social workers leave, rather than trying piss poor legislation that isn’t thought through, its no wonder we are in a mess with the DFE being in control
I gave up Social Work because of IR35. With the exception of the army, none of the organisations that I worked for would pay a rental or travel allowance. After I had paid for travel to and from the placement, accommodation and subsistence, frankly it was not worth me working.
I know the cynics will not believe this but it is fact, and that was with being paid £42.00 an hour. Working through an umbrella company, paying employer NI contributions as well as employee contributions it just was not worth it. I felt I still had plenty to contribute, but I just could not afford it.
Agency work is certainly not all about money grabbing. I appreciate there are high paying areas that look to attract workers but this is not the norm and not for everyone. Of course going to Cumbria as a SW looks great for £50 but like a high percentage of Locums, I need to be with my family daily. Hence that rate being out their.
I wanted to leave my TM post in adult services and worked out that it would take 4-5 years of permanent work and a huge drop in salary to change directorates as I wanted to move to children’s. Pay reduction is expected but needed to gain wider experience than 2-3 permanent posts. In working as a Locum it has still taken that time to work through the changes, however I have had opportunities that I would not have a permanent member of staff with 6-7 posts from SW through to TM. Starting at £32 per hour.
Being able to have contracts to cover vacancies meant I have experience across most of the teams in children’s services to determine the team and authority that I will soon become a permanent member of staff.
I have been challenged many times that I earn lots of money, people really have no idea. and very recently I it happen again and I actually sat down with a permanent colleague to do full wage disclosure and at the end of this, he shouted me lunch the next day as he said he noted that I tended not to. I earn £890 weekly. His monthly is £3,350 and mine £3,560. The difference is £210. With no sick pay, annual leave l earn way less than him and need to pay extra into pension. With gaps between roles as services give varying amounts of notice, I can be out of work for 2-4 weeks.
Added to the expectation as an agency worker and barbed threats of ending contracts over the years, have appreciated the opportunity to be a Locum but having regained the level of Team Manager going back to stability and gladly.