£1925 pay rise for social workers
By Gemma Raw
Three local government trade unions have accepted a pay offer that will see council workers, including those in social work jobs, get a £1925 increase for 2022-23, back-dated to April 2022.
The pay offer, which applies to all staff earning up to £47,665 per year, is worth between 4.04% and 6.6% for social workers. It represents the biggest pay increase in over a decade for those working in social care jobs, a welcome move against a backdrop of increasing caseloads and unprecedented workforce pressures.
As part of the deal, social workers will also receive an extra day's annual leave from 1 April 2023. In addition, allowances are being uplifted by 4.04%, including the standby allowance for emergency duty team social workers, which will rise from £30.35 to £31.58 per session. As with the pay increase, this will be backdated to April 2022.
UNISON, the GMB and Unite form the trade union delegation on the National Joint Council (NJC) for Local Government Services, which decides on pay and terms and conditions for over 1.4 million local government services' workers, including social workers. On 1 November, the three unions agreed to accept the offer from the Local Government Association.
Still more to do on pay
This is a significant uplift in pay, which will no doubt be welcomed by social workers across the UK. However, with the cost-of-living crisis and inflation running at 9%, it's still a real-terms pay cut.
"Our immediate priority, now, is to get the money into the pay packets of workers as soon as possible, to help deal with the rapidly rising cost of living and move into the next pay round," said UNISON National Secretary for Local Government Mike Short. “We know there is much more to do, as this pay settlement is still below inflation and we will be looking to submit a pay claim for 2023 as soon as practically possible, so the employers have no excuse for delaying making an offer, next year."
Just part of the picture
Of course, all social workers deserve to be paid a fair wage that keeps pace with inflation. However, pay is just part of the picture. There are other considerations that should be taken in account to ensure that the profession can retain valuable social care staff and attract new recruits into social care roles.
“Although traditionally larger unions have done well to focus on pay, there are other issues that are important to social workers in 2022, including appropriate working conditions, employment wellbeing and job satisfaction as well as just pay scales and salaries," commented John McGowan, General Secretary of the Social Workers Union (SWU) in response to ongoing pay negotiations earlier in the year.
He also pointed out that many social workers don't work for local authorities and, therefore, will be excluded from any pay discussions.
Read the official announcement of the local government pay claim settlement from the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) here.
