Earlier this year, UNISON’s social worker members were invited to take part in a regional survey to find your priorities and to build up a picture of what life is really like for social workers on the front line.
Thank you to all our members who took part. We also undertook research of regional employers through targeted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to determine disparities across the East Midlands.
Our findings reveal that the pandemic has intensified what was already a crisis in social work with continued service cuts, rising demand for services and growing caseloads.
The report contains clear messages. Our members are concerned about insufficient funding and resources, staff shortages and workloads that are dangerous both to employees and families.
One thing is certain – the way we support our social workers needs to change.
The State of Social Work Report
UNISON’s report contains 6 key asks of employers covering a range of issues, from working conditions and pay to funding and in-sourcing. Employers have been sent a copy of this report and local UNISON branches have been asked to speak to council leaders about how we can work together to deliver the change we need.
P.S. Did you know that the UNISON College has lots of online courses for social workers? Here’s some further information so you can find our more.