UNISON will today (Thursday) urge social work service leaders to speak out about the impact of spending cuts on the most vulnerable.
Stephen Smellie, chair of the union’s Social Work Issues Group, is warning that major cuts in social care spending are being widely portrayed as inevitable, yet the consequences would be drastic.
He is on a panel looking at the future of personal and social care at a Holyrood Conference in Edinburgh on Personal and Social Care Provision.
Stephen will say:
“Many voices, from the Association of Directors of Social Work, to CoSLA, from the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition UK Government to media appointed commentators, are telling us jobs need to be cut, services need to be reduced and families need to do more for their sick, disabled, young and elderly relatives.
“We believe those who wish to lead the sector must be vociferous in explaining the very real consequences of budget cuts.
“They should be standing up for quality services and warning what could happen if deep cuts are made.”
UNISON members in social care already see care packages being reduced and they hear managers saying personalisation of services will save money.
In the private sector members struggle on wage rates barely above the minimum wage, with no guaranteed hours of work, while many voluntary sector managers are telling members that terms and conditions will be cut so they can compete for contracts.
Stephen will warn:
“Accepting the inevitability of cuts means telling families their 79-year-old frail mother will not get a tuck down service and will have a different home carer each morning.
“Lone parent families will lose out on access to professional advice and support as family centres and nurseries are no longer available.
“Social work users will see less of their under-pressure, over-worked professional social worker. That worker will have to spend more time assessing not the user’s needs but their bank balance, so the council can charge as much as possible for any support it provides.
“Social work leaders need to raise their voices beyond saying, ‘the options are to cut this or cut that’. They need to argue and fight for the services that so many vulnerable people rely on.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
1. Stephen Smellie is speaking at the Holyrood Personal and Social Care Conference in Edinburgh on Thursday 17 June. Details and agenda are at: http://care.holyrood.com/
2. Stephen's full statement is at: www.unison-scotland.org.uk/socialwork/RaisingOurVoicesAgainstSocialCareCutsJune10.pdf
3. UNISON has an alternative budget for a fairer society at: www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/18887.pdf
4. Details of UNISON Scotland’s campaigns and publications supporting the social work services workforce are at: www.unison-scotland.org.uk/socialwork
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Showing posts with label social work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social work. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
The homecare companies that couldn't care less
Private care companies routinely employ staff on zero hours contracts, that often means huge swings in paid hours for staff. By refusing to pay for travel time between visits, many home carers are effectively paid below the minimum wage.
They are not offered even basic training, including how to administer medicines, despite having to give them out as a part of their work.
Some companies book back-to-back calls with no travel time at all. This forces carers to shave minutes off already packed care slots, and means elderly people are short-changed, missing out on vital support.
Out of their low wages, many care workers have to pay for their own transport, mobile phones and uniforms – all essential to do the job.
UNISON wants homecare companies to put the care back into caring, by paying for travel time between clients, boosting training and working conditions for carers. This would have the knock on benefit of raising standards of care for elderly people who rely on the service.
Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:
"It is a scandal that private homecare companies are boosting profits for themselves, but short-changing elderly people and staff. They are cutting corners by scrimping and saving on what they pay their staff. This has a huge knock on effect on elderly people relying on care to live independent lives in their own homes."
...
More information (including more on the Scottish example of bad practice, below) in full news release: UNISON UK press release
Bad Practice
Choices - Care at Home employs more than 300 home carers in South Lanarkshire. In February, the company ripped up staff employment contracts, replacing them with zero hours contracts for staff. They pay staff just £5.80 per hour, 5p above the minimum wage and 17p mileage rates.
A carer working for the company, who wanted to remain anonymous, said:
"My company schedules visits so I have to walk for up to thirty minutes. They don't schedule enough time, and I can't cut time off my visits, so it means every day I run over. If you're meant to finish about nine pm, it can be nearly ten o'clock by the time you get home. That makes it really difficult if you have to get home to put the children to bed. I can't complain, because I'll lose the work.
"If you get new clients, you don't know what their needs are until you get there. I think we should be fully briefed before we get to visits, so we know what to expect."
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Tuesday, June 8, 2010
'Undercover Social Worker' TV programme - UNISON warns cuts to public spending will hit vulnerable
If you watched the Channel 4 Dispatches programme Undercover Social Worker, about Surrey County Council, you may be interested to see UNISON's reaction.
Helga Pile, UNISON’s National Officer for Social Care Workers, warned that public spending cuts will only make the highlighted problems of under-resourcing, excessive workloads and massive recruitment problems worse.
UNISON's full reaction is here.
For information about social work in Scotland, including our Social Work Manifesto and a negotiating resource on Supervision and Workload Management, see UNISON Scotland's website at:
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/socialwork/index.html
The Dispatches website is here.
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Helga Pile, UNISON’s National Officer for Social Care Workers, warned that public spending cuts will only make the highlighted problems of under-resourcing, excessive workloads and massive recruitment problems worse.
UNISON's full reaction is here.
For information about social work in Scotland, including our Social Work Manifesto and a negotiating resource on Supervision and Workload Management, see UNISON Scotland's website at:
http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/socialwork/index.html
The Dispatches website is here.
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Thursday, May 20, 2010
UNISON wins landmark equal pay ruling in Edinburgh
Date: Thu 20 May 2010
Thousands of low paid council workers took a step closer to equal pay today thanks to a landmark decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
While many manual workers, such as cleaners, cooks and carers, have already received compensation, previous decisions of the EAT removed the right to compensation from thousands of administrators, clerical workers, learning assistants and library staff.
In the absence of a proper explanation for the pay differences between women and men, local authorities developed a technical argument that women and men only deserved equal pay if they were based at the same premises, or had the same pay and conditions - this argument has now failed.
UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said:
“I am delighted that UNISON has opened up this route to justice for so many of our members. There is now no place for employers to run or hide.
“UNISON’s equal pay campaign has defeated every contrived defence their lawyers have hidden behind.
“This charade has gone on too long. We want full compensation for all our members and that money must be paid now.”
One of UNISON’s largest group of winners from the decision are classroom assistants, many of whom earn as little as £10,000 a year.
Elaine North, a UNISON claimant from Dumfries, said:
“I was devastated when the court said I wasn’t entitled to equal pay. My colleagues do one-to-one education work with learning-disabled kids and while we love them it is such hard work.
“No harm to refuse collectors and gardeners, but fair pay is long overdue for us. We’ve worked hard for this.”
Jackie Gilchrist, who chairs the UNISON campaign for Fair Pay, said:
“This is a magnificent decision for us. Our pay has been formally investigated by the EOC and still the employers refuse to recognise the value of our jobs.
“We have gathered so much evidence about the demands of learning support work, but the courts have refused to look at it until now. They’ve got some reading to catch up on, I can tell you.
“There’s only one conclusion to reach at the end – our wages are going up.”
UNISON estimates that this Edinburgh decision will affect up to 70,000 workers across the UK and, while claim values will vary from person to person, some will exceed £30,000
Ends
Notes to editors:
1. With over 40,000 live claims UNISON is the UK’s leading provider of legal assistance on equal pay issues.
2. In the UNISON test case of Dumfries & Galloway Council v North & Others, the EAT in Scotland accepted the employer argument that equal pay claims could only succeed if women and men shared common terms and conditions, or were working at the same premises. Given the way that the work of women and men is segregated this was a major barrier to justice for tens of thousands of women.
3. UNISON is pursuing the same issue for 1,400 women in Edinburgh and, in the Edinburgh appeal decision, Lady Smith of Scotland’s Court of Session and the EAT took the highly unusual step or revisiting and reversing her previous decision.
4. The transcript can be downloaded or read in full at
http://www.employmentappeals.gov.uk/Public/Upload/
UKEATS000209BI(Revised)EDINCCvMsWilkinsonothersFINAL.doc
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Thousands of low paid council workers took a step closer to equal pay today thanks to a landmark decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
While many manual workers, such as cleaners, cooks and carers, have already received compensation, previous decisions of the EAT removed the right to compensation from thousands of administrators, clerical workers, learning assistants and library staff.
In the absence of a proper explanation for the pay differences between women and men, local authorities developed a technical argument that women and men only deserved equal pay if they were based at the same premises, or had the same pay and conditions - this argument has now failed.
UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said:
“I am delighted that UNISON has opened up this route to justice for so many of our members. There is now no place for employers to run or hide.
“UNISON’s equal pay campaign has defeated every contrived defence their lawyers have hidden behind.
“This charade has gone on too long. We want full compensation for all our members and that money must be paid now.”
One of UNISON’s largest group of winners from the decision are classroom assistants, many of whom earn as little as £10,000 a year.
Elaine North, a UNISON claimant from Dumfries, said:
“I was devastated when the court said I wasn’t entitled to equal pay. My colleagues do one-to-one education work with learning-disabled kids and while we love them it is such hard work.
“No harm to refuse collectors and gardeners, but fair pay is long overdue for us. We’ve worked hard for this.”
Jackie Gilchrist, who chairs the UNISON campaign for Fair Pay, said:
“This is a magnificent decision for us. Our pay has been formally investigated by the EOC and still the employers refuse to recognise the value of our jobs.
“We have gathered so much evidence about the demands of learning support work, but the courts have refused to look at it until now. They’ve got some reading to catch up on, I can tell you.
“There’s only one conclusion to reach at the end – our wages are going up.”
UNISON estimates that this Edinburgh decision will affect up to 70,000 workers across the UK and, while claim values will vary from person to person, some will exceed £30,000
Ends
Notes to editors:
1. With over 40,000 live claims UNISON is the UK’s leading provider of legal assistance on equal pay issues.
2. In the UNISON test case of Dumfries & Galloway Council v North & Others, the EAT in Scotland accepted the employer argument that equal pay claims could only succeed if women and men shared common terms and conditions, or were working at the same premises. Given the way that the work of women and men is segregated this was a major barrier to justice for tens of thousands of women.
3. UNISON is pursuing the same issue for 1,400 women in Edinburgh and, in the Edinburgh appeal decision, Lady Smith of Scotland’s Court of Session and the EAT took the highly unusual step or revisiting and reversing her previous decision.
4. The transcript can be downloaded or read in full at
http://www.employmentappeals.gov.uk/Public/Upload/
UKEATS000209BI(Revised)EDINCCvMsWilkinsonothersFINAL.doc
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Saturday, February 13, 2010
98% of city childcare workers threatened and abused
UNISON, the union representing Glasgow’s residential child care staff, today released the results of a survey of their residential childcare members about violence at work over a twelve month period. At the same time, the union at UK level has issued a ten-point plan to address the problem of violence against social work staff.
The survey finds that the vast majority of the city’s residential childcare workers were worried about violence in their job, and they don’t feel that their managers take their concerns seriously.
The survey also found that a majority of workers have been physically assaulted (53%) and threatened with a weapon (51%) in the past year. Almost all workers responding (98%) said that they had suffered threats or verbal abuse.
Andy McCallion, UNISON’s Glasgow branch Residential convenor said: "This survey was organised because our stewards were telling us that the levels of violence were increasing – both in frequency and in extremity. Even we, however, were surprised at the levels of the concern and the frequency of the violence.”
However, the union has found similar problems across the UK, and today issued a ten-point plan* to tackle the issue. Helga Pile, UNISON’s UK Officer for Social workers, said: “There is a chronic problem across the UK with violence and threats against staff working in social care. Threats and assaults contribute to stress, ill-health, sickness absence and high staff turnover. Employers have a responsibility to protect their staff, but sadly, social care has become a high risk job.
“First on the list to tackle this is additional funding from government to tackle violence against social workers and social care staff. Measures to address this should include thorough risk assessments that are revised following any incidents, co-working on visits and redeploying anyone who is threatened or abused whilst the incidents is fully investigated.
“Also vital is a new system to encourage social care staff to come forward and report incidents, and to record them more accurately, as well as improve the way incidents are responded to on a local level.”
In Glasgow, the union also asked their members about attitudes to the violence from their managers, and was concerned to find that 85% of respondents did not feel that management outside the direct workplace took violent incidents seriously enough.
Andy McCallion said "The bald statistic was backed up by many of the comments on the questionnaire. Comments like – ‘we are not being listened too’ or ‘we are the only group of staff where zero tolerance doesn’t count.’. It is time that management started recognising that being verbally abused and threatened on a daily basis is NOT part of the job, that incidents need to be brought out into the open and tackled, and that the placements need to look at all the individual needs of the service user, other service users living in the home, and the resources available.”
UNISON has raised the survey findings in negotiation with management to improve the service to young people in residential units, and to build a safer working environment for our members. The ten point plan will be used both at local level with individual employers, at Scottish level in the joint working group set up with the Scottish Government, the STUC and CoSLA, and directly with employers representative groups.
ends
Note for editors: The survey was carried out during March/April 2009 by sending 286 Questionnaires to members’ home addresses. 55 were received back. Glasgow City Council currently has 17 Children’s Units with 113 young people looked after in them. Copies of the results can be obtained from Chris Bartter (below)
The survey finds that the vast majority of the city’s residential childcare workers were worried about violence in their job, and they don’t feel that their managers take their concerns seriously.
The survey also found that a majority of workers have been physically assaulted (53%) and threatened with a weapon (51%) in the past year. Almost all workers responding (98%) said that they had suffered threats or verbal abuse.
Andy McCallion, UNISON’s Glasgow branch Residential convenor said: "This survey was organised because our stewards were telling us that the levels of violence were increasing – both in frequency and in extremity. Even we, however, were surprised at the levels of the concern and the frequency of the violence.”
However, the union has found similar problems across the UK, and today issued a ten-point plan* to tackle the issue. Helga Pile, UNISON’s UK Officer for Social workers, said: “There is a chronic problem across the UK with violence and threats against staff working in social care. Threats and assaults contribute to stress, ill-health, sickness absence and high staff turnover. Employers have a responsibility to protect their staff, but sadly, social care has become a high risk job.
“First on the list to tackle this is additional funding from government to tackle violence against social workers and social care staff. Measures to address this should include thorough risk assessments that are revised following any incidents, co-working on visits and redeploying anyone who is threatened or abused whilst the incidents is fully investigated.
“Also vital is a new system to encourage social care staff to come forward and report incidents, and to record them more accurately, as well as improve the way incidents are responded to on a local level.”
In Glasgow, the union also asked their members about attitudes to the violence from their managers, and was concerned to find that 85% of respondents did not feel that management outside the direct workplace took violent incidents seriously enough.
Andy McCallion said "The bald statistic was backed up by many of the comments on the questionnaire. Comments like – ‘we are not being listened too’ or ‘we are the only group of staff where zero tolerance doesn’t count.’. It is time that management started recognising that being verbally abused and threatened on a daily basis is NOT part of the job, that incidents need to be brought out into the open and tackled, and that the placements need to look at all the individual needs of the service user, other service users living in the home, and the resources available.”
UNISON has raised the survey findings in negotiation with management to improve the service to young people in residential units, and to build a safer working environment for our members. The ten point plan will be used both at local level with individual employers, at Scottish level in the joint working group set up with the Scottish Government, the STUC and CoSLA, and directly with employers representative groups.
ends
Note for editors: The survey was carried out during March/April 2009 by sending 286 Questionnaires to members’ home addresses. 55 were received back. Glasgow City Council currently has 17 Children’s Units with 113 young people looked after in them. Copies of the results can be obtained from Chris Bartter (below)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Time to tear down wall of secrecy surrounding social work
Date: Thurs 12 November 2009
UNISON, the UK's largest public sector union, has today (12 November) accused councils of fuelling suspicion and undermining public confidence in social workers, by barring them from speaking out in the media.
On the anniversary of the verdict of those involved in the tragic death of Baby Peter, the union is calling on councils to get the public to back social workers, by shining a light on their day-to-day work.
To restore confidence in social workers, the public needs to be given the facts.
Social workers deal with around 568,000 child referrals in the UK every year. Setting up a child protection plan requires intensive investigation and work with the child, the family and other agencies, including police and the health service. Since the Baby Peter case, UNISON branches report a 25% to 50% increase in the number of calls from the public and agencies, reporting suspicions about child abuse or neglect. This creates severe pressures on understaffed departments.
Helga Pile, UNISON National Officer for Social Workers, said: "Social workers have nothing to hide. Of course they observe client confidentiality, but they should be allowed to play their part in helping the public understand wheat they do and the pressures they work under. But they are gagged from doing so by many councils. That drives a wedge of suspicion between them and the public. They work with some of the most vulnerable and troubled people in our society - people who don't have a voice, and it's sad that the professionals who work with them are prevented from having one too.
"Councils could make a real difference by letting the public see what front-line social workers achieve every day. "
Commenting on the impact of the Baby P case, Social worker A - a UNISON steward and children's social worker, said: "Despite the difficulties the profession faces I continue to call myself a social worker with great pride. Why? - because I can see the positive impact of my work on the lives of the people I work with, many of whom are some of the most vulnerable members of society. I also witness the commitment and skilfulness of my colleagues as they go about their work implementing interventions that change people's lives for the better.
"For me the biggest impact of the baby P case was the very public devaluing of social work generally as a profession. This left many social workers, including myself, feeling dispirited, vulnerable and annoyed at the way the work of so many dedicated and skilled practitioners was rendered invisible. This has created a less than positive atmosphere to work in and has led to more children being taken into care."
Social worker B, UNISON social work convenor in a county council and a social worker said:
"Child protection and family support social workers were condemned nationally at the time, but had no direct way to respond other than to remain committed and dedicated to their jobs. There has been a significant increase in referrals, the general public are more aware of their responsibilities and partner agencies are sharing information at an earlier stage. This in turn has an impact on caseloads, personal stress and professional anxiety.
"As a workforce, social workers cannot publicise their successes but as a profession they have remained dedicated and committed in the face of the rising tide of referrals of an increasingly serious and complex nature. As a workforce we need to be proud of what we do achieve, recognise how much good work we are doing and how important it is to work with other agencies to support and protect vulnerable children."
Ends
.
UNISON, the UK's largest public sector union, has today (12 November) accused councils of fuelling suspicion and undermining public confidence in social workers, by barring them from speaking out in the media.
On the anniversary of the verdict of those involved in the tragic death of Baby Peter, the union is calling on councils to get the public to back social workers, by shining a light on their day-to-day work.
To restore confidence in social workers, the public needs to be given the facts.
Social workers deal with around 568,000 child referrals in the UK every year. Setting up a child protection plan requires intensive investigation and work with the child, the family and other agencies, including police and the health service. Since the Baby Peter case, UNISON branches report a 25% to 50% increase in the number of calls from the public and agencies, reporting suspicions about child abuse or neglect. This creates severe pressures on understaffed departments.
Helga Pile, UNISON National Officer for Social Workers, said: "Social workers have nothing to hide. Of course they observe client confidentiality, but they should be allowed to play their part in helping the public understand wheat they do and the pressures they work under. But they are gagged from doing so by many councils. That drives a wedge of suspicion between them and the public. They work with some of the most vulnerable and troubled people in our society - people who don't have a voice, and it's sad that the professionals who work with them are prevented from having one too.
"Councils could make a real difference by letting the public see what front-line social workers achieve every day. "
Commenting on the impact of the Baby P case, Social worker A - a UNISON steward and children's social worker, said: "Despite the difficulties the profession faces I continue to call myself a social worker with great pride. Why? - because I can see the positive impact of my work on the lives of the people I work with, many of whom are some of the most vulnerable members of society. I also witness the commitment and skilfulness of my colleagues as they go about their work implementing interventions that change people's lives for the better.
"For me the biggest impact of the baby P case was the very public devaluing of social work generally as a profession. This left many social workers, including myself, feeling dispirited, vulnerable and annoyed at the way the work of so many dedicated and skilled practitioners was rendered invisible. This has created a less than positive atmosphere to work in and has led to more children being taken into care."
Social worker B, UNISON social work convenor in a county council and a social worker said:
"Child protection and family support social workers were condemned nationally at the time, but had no direct way to respond other than to remain committed and dedicated to their jobs. There has been a significant increase in referrals, the general public are more aware of their responsibilities and partner agencies are sharing information at an earlier stage. This in turn has an impact on caseloads, personal stress and professional anxiety.
"As a workforce, social workers cannot publicise their successes but as a profession they have remained dedicated and committed in the face of the rising tide of referrals of an increasingly serious and complex nature. As a workforce we need to be proud of what we do achieve, recognise how much good work we are doing and how important it is to work with other agencies to support and protect vulnerable children."
Ends
.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
‘If we don’t take care of our elderly then we are not a civilised society’
‘If we don’t take care of our elderly then we are not a civilised society’ - Herald Scotland:17 Oct 2009
"The Herald’s campaign to highlight the plight of the elderly in Scotland this week has too often exposed a society that appears past caring. Our exclusive reports have revealed that complaints of abuse against the elderly are on the rise and that councils are increasingly being forced to place elderly people on at-risk registers."
Key public figures giving their views on The Herald’s campaign include Stephen Smellie, Chair of UNISON Scotland’s social work issues group.
Stephen Smellie's full statement to The Herald:
“The care of Scotland’s older people is one indicator of how civilized our society is. The problems highlighted by the Herald are an indication that something is significantly wrong with the way that care is delivered.
“Pressures for outsourcing and privatisation all too often mean that services are pushed out to tender and contracts granted – not on the basis of the quality of the service - but purely on its cheapness. This is not the best value for care for our older people but risks the kind of treatment highlighted.
“Even when the service is kept in house, cost pressures often mean cuts in time and resources to visit and look after clients. When services are provided under contract, voluntary providers are often told to provide services on less than the in-house service would receive. When you then factor in the private sector’s need for a profit, the kind of problems that have been highlighted are put into context.
“Now we face even greater pressure, and real fears of cuts in public funding in coming years. This will only lead to the problems becoming worse rather than better. At a time of increasing demand, levels of service should be better resourced – not cut. Properly trained, and resourced staff with the time to deal with our older people in a civilized way – whether employed directly by the authority, or in our voluntary organisations - are the only way to deliver the service they deserve. We owe it to them to deliver no less.”
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Social work union welcomes Brandon Muir reports
Wednesday 19 August 2009
UNISON, the union representing Scotland’s social work staff, today welcomed the two reports into the Brandon Muir case in Dundee.
Rory Malone, Dundee UNISON Branch Secretary said;
"At a time when some press and politicians appear to queue up to blame social work staff each time a family tragedy like this occurs, we welcome the findings of these independent and authoritative reports that no blame falls on members in Social Work.
"Dundee’s social care staff work very hard, often in difficult circumstances, to try and protect our children and all feel tragedies like this deeply. It is simply not possible to eradicate all risks, but UNISON has gone on record to identify a range of steps that can be taken to improve the position of social work staff and reduce that risk."*
UNISON has already started work with Dundee City Council to address some of the issues in the social work and will continue to discuss ways to implement recommendations in the report.
ENDS
Note for editors:
*Helping people change their lives - UNISON/BASW manifesto for Scotland’s Social Work, outlines 10 issues that need to be tackled to improve the position of social work staff and the services they provide. http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/socialwork/swmanifesto25june2009.pdf
For Further Information Please Contact:
Rory Malone (Dundee UNISON Branch Secretary) 07595 893067 (m)
Chris Bartter (Communications Officer) 0771 558 3729(m)
.
UNISON, the union representing Scotland’s social work staff, today welcomed the two reports into the Brandon Muir case in Dundee.
Rory Malone, Dundee UNISON Branch Secretary said;
"At a time when some press and politicians appear to queue up to blame social work staff each time a family tragedy like this occurs, we welcome the findings of these independent and authoritative reports that no blame falls on members in Social Work.
"Dundee’s social care staff work very hard, often in difficult circumstances, to try and protect our children and all feel tragedies like this deeply. It is simply not possible to eradicate all risks, but UNISON has gone on record to identify a range of steps that can be taken to improve the position of social work staff and reduce that risk."*
UNISON has already started work with Dundee City Council to address some of the issues in the social work and will continue to discuss ways to implement recommendations in the report.
ENDS
Note for editors:
*Helping people change their lives - UNISON/BASW manifesto for Scotland’s Social Work, outlines 10 issues that need to be tackled to improve the position of social work staff and the services they provide. http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/socialwork/swmanifesto25june2009.pdf
For Further Information Please Contact:
Rory Malone (Dundee UNISON Branch Secretary) 07595 893067 (m)
Chris Bartter (Communications Officer) 0771 558 3729(m)
.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
New Children’s Hearing system will increase risk to vulnerable children – UNISON
Date: Thurs 6 August 2009
UNISON – the union that represents workers staffing Scotland’s Children’s Panel system, and social care staff protecting vulnerable children – has submitted responses to the Scottish Government strongly criticising their proposed reorganisation of Children’s Hearings (CH).
Both UNISON’s Scottish Children’s Reporters’ Administration (SCRA) Branch and the Scottish Council of the union have submitted responses which point out that the proposals remove protections for children that are currently in place, that they set up a whole new bureaucracy which could add confusion and increase paperwork, and that they move decision-making power away from Children’s Hearings and towards the courts.
The union, which represents social work staff working in local authorities is concerned that the reforms could undermine existing protections.
Kate Ramsden, from UNISON’s Scottish Social Work Issues Group said “We are seriously concerned that the Bill actually removes current protections from children who could be at risk in an abusive household, and also that children will only be referred for voluntary advice and assistance if they have already been subject to compulsory supervision. These are just some of many examples of the draft bill concentrating on the civil rights of adults at the expense of the rights of the children to be protected.”
The establishment of a new quango is likely to lead to a dual administration, meaning increased potential for confusion, and increased bureaucracy.
Yvonne Stewart, UNISON SCRA branch secretary said “The creation of a Scottish Children’s Hearing Tribunal (SCHT) and the split in the administration of the children’s hearing system can only lead to increased bureaucracy and a greater possibility of confusion and error. This will lead to a more complex system for children, families and other professionals to engage with, and increased cost while also increasing the risk to children.”
John Stevenson, from UNISON’s Scottish Social Work Issues Group agrees “The double bureaucracy proposed here is likely to add to, rather than reduce, the amount of paperwork social workers have to fill in. This is despite all the evidence that shows the level of form-filling is a major factor reducing the time social workers can spend with looked-after children.”
UNISON is also concerned about a shift of powers towards the courts.
John Stevenson said "The ability of a court to completely rehear a case decided by a Children’s Hearing and other changes means cases are more likely to be decided in an adversarial atmosphere of a court of law, rather than the hearing setting of all parties discussing the best option for a child.”
"We understand that some changes are needed to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights but those changes have already been made. UNISON believes the welfare principle of Scotland's world-leading Children's Hearing system is worth defending. We are worried that this draft bill is less child-centred than the existing ground-breaking legislation."
The vast majority of cases Children's Hearings deal with are about the care and protection of children - 40,000 out of 50,000 referrals last year - rather than offences.
UNISON will be seeking a meeting with ministers to urge them to redraft the bill to ensure that the welfare principle becomes the centre of any new legislation.
ENDS
Notes for editors: UNISON’s responses can be found on the Scottish website at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/childrenshearing.pdf and www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/SCRAUNISONchildrenshearingresponse.pdf
More information at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/socialwork
.
UNISON – the union that represents workers staffing Scotland’s Children’s Panel system, and social care staff protecting vulnerable children – has submitted responses to the Scottish Government strongly criticising their proposed reorganisation of Children’s Hearings (CH).
Both UNISON’s Scottish Children’s Reporters’ Administration (SCRA) Branch and the Scottish Council of the union have submitted responses which point out that the proposals remove protections for children that are currently in place, that they set up a whole new bureaucracy which could add confusion and increase paperwork, and that they move decision-making power away from Children’s Hearings and towards the courts.
The union, which represents social work staff working in local authorities is concerned that the reforms could undermine existing protections.
Kate Ramsden, from UNISON’s Scottish Social Work Issues Group said “We are seriously concerned that the Bill actually removes current protections from children who could be at risk in an abusive household, and also that children will only be referred for voluntary advice and assistance if they have already been subject to compulsory supervision. These are just some of many examples of the draft bill concentrating on the civil rights of adults at the expense of the rights of the children to be protected.”
The establishment of a new quango is likely to lead to a dual administration, meaning increased potential for confusion, and increased bureaucracy.
Yvonne Stewart, UNISON SCRA branch secretary said “The creation of a Scottish Children’s Hearing Tribunal (SCHT) and the split in the administration of the children’s hearing system can only lead to increased bureaucracy and a greater possibility of confusion and error. This will lead to a more complex system for children, families and other professionals to engage with, and increased cost while also increasing the risk to children.”
John Stevenson, from UNISON’s Scottish Social Work Issues Group agrees “The double bureaucracy proposed here is likely to add to, rather than reduce, the amount of paperwork social workers have to fill in. This is despite all the evidence that shows the level of form-filling is a major factor reducing the time social workers can spend with looked-after children.”
UNISON is also concerned about a shift of powers towards the courts.
John Stevenson said "The ability of a court to completely rehear a case decided by a Children’s Hearing and other changes means cases are more likely to be decided in an adversarial atmosphere of a court of law, rather than the hearing setting of all parties discussing the best option for a child.”
"We understand that some changes are needed to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights but those changes have already been made. UNISON believes the welfare principle of Scotland's world-leading Children's Hearing system is worth defending. We are worried that this draft bill is less child-centred than the existing ground-breaking legislation."
The vast majority of cases Children's Hearings deal with are about the care and protection of children - 40,000 out of 50,000 referrals last year - rather than offences.
UNISON will be seeking a meeting with ministers to urge them to redraft the bill to ensure that the welfare principle becomes the centre of any new legislation.
ENDS
Notes for editors: UNISON’s responses can be found on the Scottish website at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/childrenshearing.pdf and www.unison-scotland.org.uk/response/SCRAUNISONchildrenshearingresponse.pdf
More information at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/socialwork
.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Surveys point to concerns re social work cover, warns UNISON
Date: Tue 14 July 2009
UNISON, Scotland's social care workers union, today highlighted their concern about increasing pressure and stress on social care workers, highlighted by a survey released by the BBC today (based on a Freedom of Information request showing very high caseloads per social worker in some authorities.)
UNISON's own Freedom of Information survey (released last month) done across all local authorities in the UK showed vacancy rates with a UK average of 12%. In Scotland, six councils exceeded the UK average. In Scottish Borders, almost a quarter (24.06%) of social work posts are vacant. This is followed by Inverclyde (20.8%), West Dunbartonshire (19.6%), Falkirk (15%), Highland (13.1%) and West Lothian (12%).
Ronnie Stevenson, UNISON Convenor of social work tewards in the largest local authority and a children and families social worker, says:
“What all these surveys are saying is that social workers are battling against the odds to protect our young children and vulnerable adults. The figures themselves are bad, but they only point to the real problem - if there are too few social workers and too many cases, the crucial element of time spent on any one child is squeezed - especially if this is exacerbated by high levels of paper work. This situation is no good for social workers and it’s no good for their clients who desperately need help."
Colin Turbett, UNISON North Ayrshire Branch Chair and a social worker says:
"What we do know is that few employers operate effective workload management systems, with the result that social workers commmonly work excessive overtime just to keep their heads above water. Frontline managers are under constant pressure to ensure reports are done timeously with score sheets comparing performance across and between authorities, and that cases are not 'unallocated'. A comprehensive integrated assessment (such as a report for a Children's Hearing) for a child now takes some 10-12 hours of work."
And UNISON points out that referral rates are rising all the time, without increasing resources.
The union along with the social work professional organisation - BASW - has recently released a manifesto for Scottish Social Work. It demands urgent action to address the issues affecting their social work members attract new staff into social work and to stem the stream of workers leaving the profession by making working conditions more bearable.
This means that councils must ensure that they not only fill vacancies but reassess the number of staff needed to cover the high volume of work. Without such measures the union is warning that there is a very real possibility of another tragedy like Brandon Muir.
ends
Notes for Editors:
1. UNISON Scotland and the BASW's Social Work Manifesto Helping people change their lives calls for a ten point plan:
2. The ten points it wants addressed are:
- Introduction of effective workload management
- Reduction in meaningless bureaucracy
- Guideline for appropriate staffing levels
- Access to good quality support and supervision
- Ensuring employers are accountable to staff and service users
- Providing an effective reporting mechanism for problems
- A clear career path allowing experienced practitioners to remain in practice
- A universal service as ‘accessible as the NHS’ with welcoming buildings
- Social work professionals being able to practice their skills in the community
- An end to cuts and threats to budgets.
The manifesto is on the UNISON Scotland website at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/socialwork
.
UNISON, Scotland's social care workers union, today highlighted their concern about increasing pressure and stress on social care workers, highlighted by a survey released by the BBC today (based on a Freedom of Information request showing very high caseloads per social worker in some authorities.)
UNISON's own Freedom of Information survey (released last month) done across all local authorities in the UK showed vacancy rates with a UK average of 12%. In Scotland, six councils exceeded the UK average. In Scottish Borders, almost a quarter (24.06%) of social work posts are vacant. This is followed by Inverclyde (20.8%), West Dunbartonshire (19.6%), Falkirk (15%), Highland (13.1%) and West Lothian (12%).
Ronnie Stevenson, UNISON Convenor of social work tewards in the largest local authority and a children and families social worker, says:
“What all these surveys are saying is that social workers are battling against the odds to protect our young children and vulnerable adults. The figures themselves are bad, but they only point to the real problem - if there are too few social workers and too many cases, the crucial element of time spent on any one child is squeezed - especially if this is exacerbated by high levels of paper work. This situation is no good for social workers and it’s no good for their clients who desperately need help."
Colin Turbett, UNISON North Ayrshire Branch Chair and a social worker says:
"What we do know is that few employers operate effective workload management systems, with the result that social workers commmonly work excessive overtime just to keep their heads above water. Frontline managers are under constant pressure to ensure reports are done timeously with score sheets comparing performance across and between authorities, and that cases are not 'unallocated'. A comprehensive integrated assessment (such as a report for a Children's Hearing) for a child now takes some 10-12 hours of work."
And UNISON points out that referral rates are rising all the time, without increasing resources.
The union along with the social work professional organisation - BASW - has recently released a manifesto for Scottish Social Work. It demands urgent action to address the issues affecting their social work members attract new staff into social work and to stem the stream of workers leaving the profession by making working conditions more bearable.
This means that councils must ensure that they not only fill vacancies but reassess the number of staff needed to cover the high volume of work. Without such measures the union is warning that there is a very real possibility of another tragedy like Brandon Muir.
ends
Notes for Editors:
1. UNISON Scotland and the BASW's Social Work Manifesto Helping people change their lives calls for a ten point plan:
2. The ten points it wants addressed are:
- Introduction of effective workload management
- Reduction in meaningless bureaucracy
- Guideline for appropriate staffing levels
- Access to good quality support and supervision
- Ensuring employers are accountable to staff and service users
- Providing an effective reporting mechanism for problems
- A clear career path allowing experienced practitioners to remain in practice
- A universal service as ‘accessible as the NHS’ with welcoming buildings
- Social work professionals being able to practice their skills in the community
- An end to cuts and threats to budgets.
The manifesto is on the UNISON Scotland website at www.unison-scotland.org.uk/socialwork
.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Scottish social care workers come together to issue ten-point plan to rescue social work
Thu 25 June 2009The two organisations representing social care staff in Scotland today published a joint manifesto in Glasgow containing ten demands that need to be addressed to resolve key problems affecting social work in Scotland.
Social care staff trade union, UNISON and social work professional body - the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) have issued the manifesto - entitled Helping People Change their Lives - after a series of surveys indicating that severe staffing shortages continue in the sector.
At the launch in Glasgow, Stephen Smellie, chair of UNISONScotland’s Social Work Issues Group (SWIG), said:
"As UNISON’s survey of staffing revealed last week, the problems of social work stem from an increase in demand across the whole range of services; and increase that is not matched by any corresponding increase in resources."This is leading to increasing stress and burnout in dedicated and enthusiastic staff. If this is not addressed we could be seeing more tragic stories like Brandon Muir and Baby P."
The union survey was yesterday backed up by official government staffing statistics, which also revealed overall vacancy levels running at around 7% in Scotland. This is similar to UNISON’s findings, but the union also points to councils that have much higher numbers of vacancies. In Scottish Borders, almost a quarter (24.06%) of social work posts are vacant. This is followed by Inverclyde (20.8%), West Dunbartonshire (19.6%), Falkirk (15%), Highland (13.1%) and West Lothian (12%).
Hilton Dawson, Chief Executive of BASW, also backed the demands in the manifesto:
"No government or local authority which seriously purports to serve people well can do so without the aid of well qualified, skilled and experienced social workers." He said, "It is now time that politicians of all parties and policy makers across all agencies recognise the value of our work.
"It is now time for Social Workers to stand up for Social Work and campaign for nothing less than the fundamental transformation of the standing and status of our profession."
Both organisations will now be raising the ten points with employers and politicians, demanding that they each be addressed so that staff can maintain and surpass the high standards they set themselves.
(Pic: Hilton Dawson (Chief Executive, BASW); Ruth Stark (Scottish Professional Officer, BASW); Stephen Smellie (UNISON Scotland. Photo by Alan Wylie)
ENDS
Notes for editors:
1) the manifesto is available from the UNISONScotland website
www.unison-scotland.org.uk/socialwork/index.html
2) The ten points it wants addressed are:
- Introduction of effective workload management
- Reduction in meaningless bureaucracy
- Guideline for appropriate staffing levels
- Access to good quality support and supervision
- Ensuring employers are accountable to staff and service users
- Providing an effective reporting mechanism for problems
- A clear career path allowing experienced practitioners to remain in practice
- A universal service as ‘accessible as the NHS’ with welcoming buildings
- Social work professionals being able to practice their skills in the community
- An end to cuts and threats to budgets.
.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Social Work vacancies hit danger point, warns UNISON
Date: Wed 17 June 2009
UNISON, the UK's largest public sector union, today accused council bosses of "covering up" the true extent of social work vacancies across the country and the risk that poses.
A Freedom of Information request to all local authorities in the UK has shown vacancy rates topping danger levels of 39% with a UK average of 12%. Councils have consistently claimed that social work vacancies are falling, but the statistics show that the true picture is much bleaker.
In Scotland, six councils exceed the UK average. In Scottish Borders, almost a quarter (24.06%) of social work posts are vacant. This is followed by Inverclyde (20.8%), West Dunbartonshire (19.6%), Falkirk (15%), Highland (13.1%) and West Lothian (12%).
Speaking at the union's National Delegate Conference in Brighton, where the survey findings were announced, Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, said:
"Social workers are battling against the odds to protect our young children and vulnerable adults. How can they deliver a safe and effective service when vacancy rates are hitting in excess of 20% in so many parts of the country? Councils should not bury their heads in the sand and try and cover up the problem. This situation is no good for social workers and it’s no good for their clients who desperately need help."
UNISON is demanding urgent action to attract new staff into social work and to stem the stream of workers leaving the profession by making working conditions more bearable. This means that councils must ensure that they not only fill vacancies but reassess the number of staff needed to cover the high volume of work. Without such measures the union is warning that there is a very real possibility of another tragedy like baby P.
Most councils turn to agency staff in an effort to plug the gap but this just brings with it other problems. One of the prime reasons people choose agency working is for the flexibility it affords. That same flexibility can be a real headache for managers who need to be able to plan and allocate case work, ensure continuity for clients and build trust in the relationship
It takes time for new agency workers to pick up complex work and when they leave even more time is needed to pass that work on to their colleagues. In addition social work teams complain that money is tight which leads to agency workers being forced to leave at short notice.
Dave Prentis added:
"We are in the middle of a serious recruitment and retention crisis. Social workers are under pressure from all sides. We need action now to attract more people into the job and stem the flow of workers leaving. Councils need urgent action plans and to work with central government and unions to plug the gaps, before we have another tragedy like baby P."
ends
Notes for Editors:
1. UNISON Scotland and the British Association of Social Workers will be launching a Social Work Manifesto for members in Scotland next week.
2. UNISON’s UK action plan includes:
* A planned programme of investment so that more social workers can be employed, with better pay and working conditions, better support systems and the right tools for the job.
* A Revival of Qualify-on-the- Job Schemes which fund social work assistants, care managers and other workers to gain their social work qualification while in the council’s employment
* National Standards on Acceptable Caseloads enforced through the inspection process and regularly audited by the council or Trust leadership, with sanctions against employers who breach the Code of Practice for Social Care Employers.
* A Cull of Red Tape: a root and branch zero-based review of all bureaucracy and consideration of measures used to cut red tape in schools. Overhaul of performance indicators which skew priorities.
* Better Support and More Reflective Practice: consistent, high quality supervision that is both supportive and challenging, focuses on the needs of the worker, not the organisation’s performance indicators and builds in time for reflection and mentoring.
* Measures to Rebuild Morale, Confidence and Status of Social Workers: redress the devastating drop in morale through a sustained campaign to promote positive public awareness about what social work achieves.
.
UNISON, the UK's largest public sector union, today accused council bosses of "covering up" the true extent of social work vacancies across the country and the risk that poses.
A Freedom of Information request to all local authorities in the UK has shown vacancy rates topping danger levels of 39% with a UK average of 12%. Councils have consistently claimed that social work vacancies are falling, but the statistics show that the true picture is much bleaker.
In Scotland, six councils exceed the UK average. In Scottish Borders, almost a quarter (24.06%) of social work posts are vacant. This is followed by Inverclyde (20.8%), West Dunbartonshire (19.6%), Falkirk (15%), Highland (13.1%) and West Lothian (12%).
Speaking at the union's National Delegate Conference in Brighton, where the survey findings were announced, Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, said:
"Social workers are battling against the odds to protect our young children and vulnerable adults. How can they deliver a safe and effective service when vacancy rates are hitting in excess of 20% in so many parts of the country? Councils should not bury their heads in the sand and try and cover up the problem. This situation is no good for social workers and it’s no good for their clients who desperately need help."
UNISON is demanding urgent action to attract new staff into social work and to stem the stream of workers leaving the profession by making working conditions more bearable. This means that councils must ensure that they not only fill vacancies but reassess the number of staff needed to cover the high volume of work. Without such measures the union is warning that there is a very real possibility of another tragedy like baby P.
Most councils turn to agency staff in an effort to plug the gap but this just brings with it other problems. One of the prime reasons people choose agency working is for the flexibility it affords. That same flexibility can be a real headache for managers who need to be able to plan and allocate case work, ensure continuity for clients and build trust in the relationship
It takes time for new agency workers to pick up complex work and when they leave even more time is needed to pass that work on to their colleagues. In addition social work teams complain that money is tight which leads to agency workers being forced to leave at short notice.
Dave Prentis added:
"We are in the middle of a serious recruitment and retention crisis. Social workers are under pressure from all sides. We need action now to attract more people into the job and stem the flow of workers leaving. Councils need urgent action plans and to work with central government and unions to plug the gaps, before we have another tragedy like baby P."
ends
Notes for Editors:
1. UNISON Scotland and the British Association of Social Workers will be launching a Social Work Manifesto for members in Scotland next week.
2. UNISON’s UK action plan includes:
* A planned programme of investment so that more social workers can be employed, with better pay and working conditions, better support systems and the right tools for the job.
* A Revival of Qualify-on-the- Job Schemes which fund social work assistants, care managers and other workers to gain their social work qualification while in the council’s employment
* National Standards on Acceptable Caseloads enforced through the inspection process and regularly audited by the council or Trust leadership, with sanctions against employers who breach the Code of Practice for Social Care Employers.
* A Cull of Red Tape: a root and branch zero-based review of all bureaucracy and consideration of measures used to cut red tape in schools. Overhaul of performance indicators which skew priorities.
* Better Support and More Reflective Practice: consistent, high quality supervision that is both supportive and challenging, focuses on the needs of the worker, not the organisation’s performance indicators and builds in time for reflection and mentoring.
* Measures to Rebuild Morale, Confidence and Status of Social Workers: redress the devastating drop in morale through a sustained campaign to promote positive public awareness about what social work achieves.
.
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