Any social workers still here?

Hi all,
I read through the entire thread for social workers above and wondered if any are still here? I am currently working in child protection in the States, and trying to plan a move to the UK next year. Luckily, I lived in Cornwall about 10 years ago, so I'm familiar with living in the UK.

I am especially interested in working for West Berkshire as I see they offer lots of great benefits, including a £15,000 retention bonus after three years. Wow! Does anyone have any experience with West Berks? Or any advice on job hunting for a social worker in general?

Also, I'm going to register with the HCPC but I wondered if any councils/employers are willing to pay the fee or reimburse once you're hired? I'm finding it difficult to part with the £440! 
Thanks!

I'm still here, a social worker, but not American. 

I worked in Wokingham in 2001 - 2003.

As you may suspect, you must register with the HCPC. You could always ask when negotiating your contract if a local council might reimburse you, but I suspect they may only provide reimbursement for the ongoing fees, not initial registration.

For jobs, apply to local authorities direct, NHS or look at Community Care. National Careers Service or Prospects should also provide sources for looking for work.

Might I ask on what basis you're returning to the UK? 

 

Hi all,
I read through the entire thread for social workers above and wondered if any are still here? I am currently working in child protection in the States, and trying to plan a move to the UK next year. Luckily, I lived in Cornwall about 10 years ago, so I'm familiar with living in the UK.

I am especially interested in working for West Berkshire as I see they offer lots of great benefits, including a £15,000 retention bonus after three years. Wow! Does anyone have any experience with West Berks? Or any advice on job hunting for a social worker in general?

Also, I'm going to register with the HCPC but I wondered if any councils/employers are willing to pay the fee or reimburse once you're hired? I'm finding it difficult to part with the £440! 
Thanks!

I'm a social worker, I previously worked in child protection here in London. I currently work for a major children's charity as a social worker.

I don't have any experience in West Berkshire, but I would assume that the council is probably making such a generous offer because of a high rate of vacancies. The state of the child welfare system in the UK is not great at the moment, and almost every local authority has difficulties retaining staff due to extremely high caseloads, the pressure placed on staff, the cutting of services due to budget cuts, and the lack of appreciation for staff.

I do not think that the local authority would be willing to pay/reimburse for HCPC registration, but you could try to negotiate this in your contract. Every local authority is under immense pressure to cut their budgets, so they might be unwilling to part with any extra cash or staff benefits. Keep in mind that it costs around £150/year as well to be on the register.

As far as job hunting, I would suggest three things:

1. Register as soon as possible with the HCPC. This is an absolute essential requirement, and most job applications ask if you are registered. If you tick the 'no' box, often times your application will automatically be rejected by the computer.

2. Research and familiarise yourself with the UK law and practices, especially the Children's Act 1989 and 2004. There are certain 'buzzwords' that employers seem to look for in job applications.

3. Be completely upfront with you immigration status. Again, some places will automatically reject applications that indicate no right to work in the UK. If you are planning to try to get sponsorship, say so, and outline why you think that you are eligible to be sponsored. Show that you have done your research, managers might not know about the process.

Hope this helps!

Hope this helps, happy job hunting.

Thank you both so much!

I'm currently working with high caseloads and increasing budget cuts, but I miss the UK terribly and want to get back. When I saw that social workers were listed on the shortage list, I figured I can do the same job there 

Are you planning on going for a Tier 2 (work permit) visa then? That only means you can apply for child protection posts. I'm afraid the atmosphere is no different here than any other country.

Austerity is the word these days! You can read about it in Community Care.