Calling all Social Workers

Maple, you've probably already addressed this waaaayyyy back on page 24 (haha), but what line of social work are you in?

Disability field of social work (mental health, physical and sensory impairments, FAS / FAE, Autism spectrum, acquired brain injury and so on): adults, children, government, non profit / voluntary sector....

Disability field of social work (mental health, physical and sensory impairments, FAS / FAE, Autism spectrum, acquired brain injury and so on): adults, children, government, non profit / voluntary sector....

Disability/mental health with adults and children is where the majority of my social work experience lies. That's a great sector to work in.

And, for anyone who is wondering about current GSCC processing times, I have been officially added to the register.   I can't remember my exact application date, but it was the last week of January. So it took about a month; pretty quick turnaround! Although I suppose it could take longer in the spring/summer because I'm sure that's when all the new graduates apply. Just an FYI for anyone who is going through/about to go through the process.

Can anyone shed some light on the pay rate of social workers in the UK. The agency that I am going through is paying 28,000 pounds yearly but when I went to the UK hourly wage calculator and that only averages out to be $13.46 an hour. That does not sound great to  me. I want between $16-23 an hour to start off with.I think that's why most of the social workers that move to England get flatmates, but I do not want a roommate. I am tired of having a roommates and want my own place in a nice area.

Hmm...that calculation is off. Or at least it seems off because the wages of UK social workers is a big selling point for foreign qualified social workers. I did the math on my own and 28,000 GBP came out to be roughly $21/hour, pre-tax. Unless taxes are so extreme that the gross is $21 and the net is $13, but I doubt taxes are that crazy...are they?

Perhaps one of our resident UK social workers can shed some light.

Can anyone shed some light on the pay rate of social workers in the UK. The agency that I am going through is paying 28,000 pounds yearly but when I went to the UK hourly wage calculator and that only averages out to be $13.46 an hour. That does not sound great to  me. I want between $16-23 an hour to start off with.I think that's why most of the social workers that move to England get flatmates, but I do not want a roommate. I am tired of having a roommates and want my own place in a nice area.

That sounds like £13.46 / hour to me, just looking at it, which works out to USD 20.20 at the present exchange rate http://www.xe.com.

Social workers in local authorities usually work 37.5 hours / week. £28000 / 52 weeks / 37.5 hours = £14.46 gross per hour (pre tax) or USD 21.52.  

After tax that works out to about £1800 / month net (post tax), roughly. Information on tax rates in the UK: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/it.htm and http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/BeginnersGuideToTax/DG_10013700

Information on the profession and salary: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/social_worker_salary.jsp  

Your financial ability to live on your own is largely dependent on the cost of living where you are. Are you coming to the UK on your own or with a partner? You have to factor in rent, council tax, petrol, utilities, getting a new driving licence, TV licence, visa fees, etc., whether you go furnished or want to buy your own things etc. etc. Where are you planning on working?

Council tax:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/YourlocalcouncilandCouncilTax/CouncilTax/index.htm

Driving licence:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/index.htm

TV licence:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_4017480

Housing costs:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/

I think in London it would be hard to live without a flatmate. If you try another urban areas, like Birmingham, Manchester etc. (avoiding the Southeast), cost of living will be much, much less.

ETA: I'd be aiming for rent to be less than or equal to 30% your wages of about £540 /month, which if you're in Coventry, you should be OK in a studio or one bed, I would have thought.

Hope that helps.

Hi all,

I would take it up with the agency as soon as possible.  Our standard wages for Social Workers are £30,345 - £37,851.  Most of our overseas applicants are appointed above the lowest rate so long they can show they were earning a higher salary at home.

We still have a number of opportunities available at the London Borough of Hackney and I would be more than happy to provide information either on the Forum or personally.

We have successfully recruited a number of US Consultant Social Workers and Social Workers and as we are a direct employer we are in a position to make faster decisions.

Please contact me on sandra.segal@hackney.gov.uk or take a look at the website www.hackney.gov.uk/reclaim [nofollow] social work.

Hi Sandra I sent you a reply but never heard back from you, My name is Sonia and I am not sure if you received my email.

Hi Sonia,

I have replied to you by personal email.  Please feel free to contact me if you would like further information.

Kind regards


Sandra Segal
London Borough of Hackney

Does anyone know of any jobs in Crawley or close by? I have my master's in clinical social work from Ohio State University. I have done both therapy and case management. I am in need of a job because I just moved over and my husband has now been made redundant. So neither of us have jobs. I am going to do my social work application next week for the board. I have just been so busy these last several months getting married and getting my visa and moving that I have not had the energy to be focused on the job search since my husband had a good job for the last 10 years. But now I a just trying to find anything.

Does anyone know of any jobs in Crawley or close by? I have my master's in clinical social work from Ohio State University. I have done both therapy and case management. I am in need of a job because I just moved over and my husband has now been made redundant. So neither of us have jobs. I am going to do my social work application next week for the board. I have just been so busy these last several months getting married and getting my visa and moving that I have not had the energy to be focused on the job search since my husband had a good job for the last 10 years. But now I a just trying to find anything.

You'd easily be able to commute to many of the local authorities in South London or the southeast:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/index.htm

http://www.socialworkcareers.co.uk/links/authorities.asp

The Social Work Task Force Social Workers' Workload Survey:

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/swtf/downloads/SWTF%20Workload%20Survey%20%28final%29.pdf

And bad news again on the social work front: 

BBC News - Birmingham City Council social workers sacked

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/mar/19/birmingham-council-sacks-social-workers

Are there any social workers near LGW that would like to hang out?

Are there any social workers near LGW that would like to hang out?

Where do you mean by LGW - London Gatwick? 

Yes, I live near the airport.