9/1/2023 0 Comments Notebook paper backgroundThere are already regional agreements in place to ensure the rates of pay and agency margins are reasonable. It’s also really not the case that agency work is so much more expensive or less compliant. The loss of agency staff in anything like this proportion would give vulnerable children even less chance of getting the care they need. They predicted the impact of the plans would also see colleagues quit and children receive worse care. In fact, four in ten children’s agency social workers, out of a sample of 147, told the REC that they would leave the profession entirely if these DfE rules go ahead. A lack of flexibility, poor pay, heavy caseloads, burnout and, sometimes, difficult work cultures are fundamental challenges to social work – which this proposed policy will not really address. Social workers turn to agencies primarily to help them manage their work/life balance. We need to move beyond suggestions that there is something unacceptable about people choosing to work for agencies or agencies existing – when they are just a response to demand and provide a flexible choice in how people work.” Why practitioners go agency The situation for the workforce has since deteriorated, with the vacancy rate in local authority children’s services rising from 16.7% to 20% in the year to September 2022, according to the DfE’s annual workforce census. Seven in 10 local authorities, who were polled in January to March 2022, were not confident they would have enough permanent child and family social workers to meet their needs over the next 12 months. The results from the DfE’s latest children’s services omnibus showed that, of the third of local authorities who responded, a majority cited recruitment and retention to be a key challenge. The collection and sharing of core agency and pay data, to support better workforce planning and the ability to monitor, enforce and assess the impact of the proposals.A requirement for a minimum six-week notice period for agency social workers. That councils do not engage agency workers for a period of three months after they have left a substantive role within the same region (excluding certain exceptions).A requirement for employers to request and provide references for all agency social worker candidates.A requirement for social workers who graduated in or after April 2024 to have a minimum of five years’ post-qualified experience working within children’s social care and to have completed the ASYE to be appointed to an agency post.National price caps on what local authorities may pay per hour for locums, based on the average earned by equivalent permanent staff, on a like-for-like basis.All procurement of agency staff should follow national rules.What are the proposed rules on agency work?
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