Issue - meetings

Report by Corporate Directors Carolyn Godfrey and Maggie Rae

Councillor Laura Mayes presented a report which outlined the current difficulties being experienced in the recruitment of experienced social workers and social work managers in children’s services and adult care operations.

The Corporate Leadership Team had therefore taken the operational decision on 23 June 2014 to pay market supplements to some specific social work roles where the impact of the recruitment difficulties on service delivery had become unsustainable. This was in accordance with the Council’s existing Market Supplement policy.

This was designed to improve in particular the recruitment and retention of experienced social workers and managers in the safeguarding and MASH (multi agency safeguarding hub) which was critical to the delivery of services to vulnerable children in Wiltshire.

This was an operational decision and therefore delegated to officers. However, it was being drawn to Cabinet’s attention to ensure it was satisfied from a safeguarding perspective. Cllr Mayes commented that as well as the supplement, there were other factors that also played a part in the retention of social workers such as manageable workloads and achieving a good work life balance.

Resolved:

That Cabinet:

1.         Note and support the decision by Corporate Leadership Team on 23 June 2014 to pay 10% market supplement to level 3 and 4 social workers and a 15% market supplement to assistant team and team managers in the children’s social care teams for safeguarding and MASH: and

2.             Note that the decision also included the provision to extend these market supplement payments to other experienced social worker and social work managers roles in other areas of children’s services and within adult care operations where there is evidence of significant difficulties in recruiting, and where the inability to recruit is having an impact on service delivery that is deemed to be unsustainable and subject to the approval of the associate director for people & business, in conjunction with the relevant associate director.

3.         That a report be presented to a future meeting of Cabinet on other actions being taken to support much valued staff in these areas.

Reason for decision

To improve the recruitment and retention of experienced social workers and social work managers.