Same job in neighbouring authority pays a lot more

[ladyinacampervan]

Hi all

I work for the local authority in my home county as an unqualified social worker (goes by various names depending which authority).

Essentially I do the exact same job as level 2 and 3 social workers and even though they say I should have 'complicated' cases I do because of the model we work with. I like the complicated ones!

I get paid c£23k for full time. I have more experience than many of the qualified workers. There's no progression unless I want to go back to uni and do a SW degree which I can't afford. The sometimes offer apprenticeships but they're hard to get onto and I got turned down after they made me jump through hoops.

Same job in the next authority is c£29k+. Sometimes they come up and if I applied in the nearest town it wouldn't be a huge commute.

The issue is I know a lot of people who work for this authority and they all say it's awful, really badly treated etc and the only reason they stay is because the pay is better than moving to my authority.

I like my team and where I am based, I don't think it would be worth it for my MH to move to a miserable place but I feel so undervalued where I am, as do my fellow unqualified colleagues.

Is there any way of broaching this with my authority re the pay comparison or would it be pointless and how would I start? It wouldn't just be my job, as all the qualified staff get paid less than most other authorities as well.

WWYD?

[AwkwardSquad]

Would your current employer support you to study to become a qualified social worker? That could be an option - stay with current employer but increase your earnings potential.

[AwkwardSquad]

Apart from that, it might be worth an exploratory conversation with your union about your authority’s job evaluation model and whether there’s an argument for the gradings for your role to be re-evaluated. Bit of a long shot though.

[ladyinacampervan]

They used to support doing it with the OU but withdrew that when they started the impossible to get apprenticeships - before I joined.

Doing it with the OU while staying with my current team would be the dream. I'd only need to do 2 years as well because of my first degree having some relevance.

It's so frustrating. The union might be the way to go.

[AwkwardSquad]

Have you had / are you getting anywhere with the ‘career aspirations’ conversation with your line manager as part of your annual performance appraisal?
They’ll start losing good people if they don’t support career development and pay at least close to market rate. £23k sounds pretty low to me. Caveat, I’m not HR tho.

[firebrimstone]

Thanks, the performance appraisal is this month. I'll be bringing it up.

I feel like they see us as cheap labour tbh. Happy for us to carry the workload and responsibilities but not willing to pay accordingly.

I don't have the SW degree but I do have one in a sister subject and lots of experience.

[RenardeRenarde]

OP if you already have a degree and relevant work experience you’re the perfect candidate for a post grad social work qualification. The OU have an MA in social work (distance learning, approved by SWE and faster to complete than 2 years of a BA) plus you can get full tuition fee funding for MAs now so you won’t be out of pocket.

www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/qualifications/f80#entry-requirements