Quarter of social workers use own money to support people every month
Hundreds of social workers are dipping into their own pockets to help people who are in crisis.
Research by the Social Workers Union (SWU) reveals nearly two-thirds of social workers have felt compelled to step in and personally fund basic items for people they support – from food to energy prepayment meter top-ups.
More than a quarter said they were doing so every month and three-quarters were unable to claim back costs incurred.
The finding comes as the government launched its new Crisis and Resilience Fund on 1 April to provide faster emergency support for households in hardship.
However, SWU is warning the fund may not go far enough to prevent social workers continuing to plug gaps, particularly where crises arise suddenly or systems remain slow and bureaucratic.
More than 599 social workers took part in the research, with 380 saying they had provided direct financial support to service users.
The overwhelming majority had to buy food (87 per cent), while others paid for public transport (36 per cent), clothing (26 per cent), cleaning supplies (24 per cent), and top-up energy prepayment meters (19 per cent) to keep people warm.
Despite 86 per cent of social workers trying to secure support via foodbanks, council-run household support funds and local charities, seven times out of ten they say they were faced with an emergency where there was no time to navigate complex or slow bureaucratic systems.
SWU general secretary John McGowan warned the findings point to a “broken support system”.
He said: “It cannot be right that social workers are left to plug the gaps in a broken support system with their own money. While the new Crisis and Resilience Fund is a welcome step, it will not solve the problem on its own if support remains slow, complex or hard to access in an emergency.
“The data paints a stark picture of a safety net riddled with delays and gaps. The true test of the new fund moving forward will be to see if it means that local and national governments act urgently to ensure help is there when it is needed.”
Though over half of social workers (58 per cent) described such payments as rare, 27 per cent said they were dipping into their own pockets every month, with nearly one in ten (nine per cent) doing so even more regularly.
Most contributions were under £25, but one in 20 social workers spent more than £100.
More than a third (36 per cent) said helping clients put their own finances at risk, highlighting how the cost-of-living crisis is now affecting not just vulnerable families, but workers tasked with protecting them too.
Social workers were asked by SWU researchers why they had resorted to providing direct financial support to service users.
One said: “There are often several real forms to fill out to request financial support which are declined anyhow by managers. To save time – something we don't often have – I've paid for items myself.”
Another claimed their local authority “has restricted food bank vouchers to three per year”.
An inability of people to access the internet or navigate lengthy online forms was cited as a reason by one social worker, while another said “there just was no longer any support left to apply for”.
The findings back a similar survey carried out by PSW magazine in 2018.