The campaign aims
- Adequate and safe staffing
- Sustainable workloads
- Proper funding and investment in social work services
- Better services through better professional development
- Recognition and respect for social work expertise
- Improved mental health and wellbeing support for practitioners
The campaign comes in response to years of research by BASW, SWU and others showing deteriorating conditions for social workers.
In 2025, SWU conducted a survey with ITV News of 2,380 social workers, with 86% highlighting inadequate staffing levels and 84% saying these shortages are seriously limiting their ability to do their jobs properly. Comparative analysis shows that working conditions for social workers are worse than 90-95% of other employees in both public and private sector occupations. Social workers are working an average of 64 days per year more than contracted – equivalent to 11 additional hours per week – with high caseloads and administrative burdens creating unsustainable pressure.
These findings are echoed across the four nations of the UK by service levels, research and workforce surveys by regulators, government, representative bodies and others:
Northern Ireland
The Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland recently published a report stating that 'due to the pressures on services and staff availability, nurses, social workers, and GPs are increasingly reporting burnout, heavy workloads, and a desire to leave the profession.' These pressures are felt across the sector in NI.
Scotland
The 2025 Wellbeing Survey Report from SSSC has caused the regulator to describe the sector as having ‘a workforce that continues to show extraordinary commitment, but whose capacity is being steadily undermined.’ in an environment ‘where the conditions required to sustain high quality compassionate practice are increasingly compromised.’
England
Social Work England's own Workforce survey, published in 2024, highlighted that 'Social workers report the main challenges for their organisation are high workloads and burnout (79%). This is followed by a lack of applicants for vacancies (60%) and a skills shortage (42%).
Other evidence:
BASW 2025 annual State of Social Work survey report
Wellbeing Toolkit Launched
As part of the campaign, a new wellbeing toolkit has been launched by BASW and SWU to help drive systemic change involving all stakeholders – from frontline social workers to senior leaders.
Toolkit
Chapter 1: Introduction
Includes sections on:
- Background
- The 12 Changes
- A holistic, systemic and integrated approach
- What does the toolkit aim to do?
- Who is this toolkit for?
- Using the toolkit
- BASW Code of Ethics
Chapter 2: Evidence summary
Includes sections on:
- A summary of evidence: the case for change
- Understanding stress
- The reasons for stress and poor morale in social work
- Retention
- Tackling racism and all forms of discrimination
- Comparisons with other occupations: the HSE Management Standards
Chapter 3: The Integrated Approach
Includes sections on:
- An Integrated Approach
- The Integrated Approach to Change (2025)
- Accounting for the structural context of social work
- A highly unequal society
- Resourcing the workforce
Chapter 4: Self care, rights and wellbeing
Includes sections on:
- Looking after yourself at work
- Understanding our own wellbeing
- Understanding employers responsibilities for workplace health and wellbeing
- Knowing your rights at work
- Actions: exercising your rights at work
- Tackling Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination
- You are not alone
- Self-care
- Self-care outside of work
- Being honest with ourselves
- Moral and ethical stressors
- Guidance on working with people in poverty
- When personal challenges affect wellbeing at work
- Personal agency and choice: is this the right place for me now?
- Resilience
Chapter 5: CPD and Career development
Includes sections on:
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and career development
- The value of CPD to wellbeing
- Making time for learning
- Asking for time for CPD
- Diversifying forms of learning
- Managing Artificial Intelligence and Digital Learning
- Enabling social worker engagement in research and academic work
- CPD for all career stages
- A Learning Culture
Chapter 6: Practice Supervision and Practice Leadership
Includes sections on:
- Practice supervision
- Supervision as a joint responsibility
- A framework for reflective supervision
- Becoming a practice supervisor
- Practice leadership
- A learning culture vs blame culture
Chapter 7: Mentoring and Coaching
Includes sections on:
- The value of mentoring and coaching in social work
- Mentoring
- The Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) for England
- Coaching
- The BASW Social Work Professional Support Service (SWPSS)
Campaign Strategy
In order to achieve the aims set out above, BASW and SWU are actively engaging with national governments across all four nations, as well as with employers, local authorities, regulators, and other stakeholders. Below are the following areas we are working toward achieving:
Social work is primarily regulated and legislated for across the four nations of the UK in devolved settings. Our members in Scotland were clear that one set of national terms and conditions, outlining pay and profession-specific conditions for public sector social workers, was needed. One Deal for Social Work is our unified campaign for national terms and conditions for social workers in Scotland. This has been running since 2023; see details here.
Safe Staffing & Workloads
- A fair settlement for overseas qualified social workers
- Fairer and more accessible provision of bursary support for social work students in all parts of the UK
- Reduction in admin burdens, national maximum caseloads, dedicated local government job family, and a consistent framework for pay as set out in the One Deal for Social Work campaign in Scotland and the 80:20 campaign in England.
Proper Funding & Investment in Services
- A long-term, or multi-year, funding settlement for all local authorities
- Funding to scale up early intervention and prevention services
- Pay recognition and enhancements for additional qualifications and responsibilities as set out in the One Deal for Social Work campaign.
Better Professional Development & Greater Recognition for Social Work
- Clear and consistent regulatory guidance for social workers on ethical and safe use of artificial intelligence in social work.
- Abolish the National Age Assessment Board, which is undermining and overriding local authority social workers conducting age assessments.
- Improved portrayal of social work in local and national media, ensuring the profession is being fairly and accurately represented.
- Reflective supervision delivered by a qualified social worker and at least five days of formal training a year, as set out in the One Deal for Social Work campaign.
Improved Mental Wellbeing Support
- Greater protections for social workers in their line of work to address the shockingly high number of assaults on professionals.
- Healthier workplace cultures that root out and prevent instances of bullying, harassment and discrimination.
- A higher mileage allowance rate that ensures social workers are not out of pocket when using their cars for work purposes.
- Paid overtime and flexible working options as set out in the One Deal for Social Work campaign.
Access support and resources
Click below to view our previous campaign work
Good Practice Toolkit (2020)
In 2020, BASW and SWU launched the Social Worker Wellbeing and Working Conditions Good Practice Toolkit.
This toolkit is aimed at accelerating action across all parts of the workplace. It is for social workers in practice, social work supervisors, workforce development leads, managers, and leaders.
Survey Findings
UK Social Workers: Working Conditions and Wellbeing (2017)
- Over 1200 social workers participated and overwhelmingly named the same triggers for burn out: unmanageable caseloads, lack of resources and little professional support.
- For most job roles working conditions are at a completely unacceptable level. Workload, including too many cases or too high a complexity, and paperwork/administrative duties were the two biggest issues.
- A standout finding was that 52% of UK social workers intend to leave the profession within 18 months due to burn out, increasing to 55% for social workers working specifically in children’s services.
UK Social Workers: Working Conditions and Wellbeing (2018)
- Compared to the UK average, working conditions were worse than 90%-95% of other employees in both public and private sector occupations. Main problems were high case and administrative loads, and lack of resources.
- Nearly half of all social workers are also dissatisfied in their jobs and two thirds have attended work while ill at least twice in the previous year
- Social workers worked an average of 64 days per year more than they are contracted to.
- 60% looking to leave their current job within 15 months with nearly 40% looking to leave the profession entirely.
- 71.87% of respondents felt unable to complete their work within their contracted hours, with almost one quarter reporting working an additional 10 hours or more per work. The vast majority were unpaid.
- More than one-third reported that the numbers of people with whom they worked had increased during the pandemic and had not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
- The biggest challenges facing the profession were considered to be: the failure to adequately fund social care and cuts to local services.
- Recruitment and retention is considered to be one of the biggest challenges facing the profession.
- 74.91% of respondents reported feeling unable to complete their work during their contracted hours
- More social workers feel unable to manage their workload (52.19%), those who do work additional hours go unpaid (90.27%).
- 49.56% have been verbally abused whilst working and 24.03% threatened with physical violence.
- 79.08% report that the cost-of living crisis causes more problems for people using social work services.
Lobbying & Influencing
BASW & SWU proactively lobby politicians from all parties to back our campaign for better working conditions for social workers and are calling on the UK Government to deliver urgent reforms. View some of our activity below.
- BASW/SWU held a Parliamentary reception on 27th November 2018 to engage parliamentarians with our working conditions and wellbeing campaign.
- It was an opportunity to inform them of our survey findings and urge them to work with us to deliver our campaign asks, ensuring the social work profession across the UK is better supported, respected, resourced and valued.
- Over 20 MPs from across the political divide pledged their support to improving working conditions for social workers.In December 2019 we launched the BASW UK manifesto which calls for action to support social workers. This includes a call to tackle poor working conditions and unfeasibly high workloads of social workers.
- Following the General Election, we wrote to all new government ministers and MPs urging them to support the BASW UK social work manifesto and to meet with them to discuss the campaign.
- In March 2022, BASW worked with Cat Smith MP to secure a debate in Westminster on the impact of the pandemic on social work and calling for much improved working conditions. Watch the full debate here.
Media Coverage
BASW & SWU work hard to raise awareness of the impact of poor working conditions on social worker's wellbeing and amplify the case for long overdue and desperately needed improvements through our reach in the national media. Read highlights of our coverage below.
- BASW chair, Gerry Nosowska, speaks to Radio Cornwall about social workers working conditions.
- BASW England professional officer, Becky Reynolds, appears on Victoria Derbyshire
- SWU general secretary, John McGowan, promotes BASW/SWU’s Working Conditions campaign on the radio
- BASW England committee member Lewis Roberts tells of increasing pressure on social workers
- BASW chair Gerry Nosowska looks at deteriorating working conditions and an increase in caseload as drivers behind staff shortages
- BASW and SWU reveal levels of violence and abuse social workers can be exposed to, while calling for protection parity with our emergency colleagues
- BASW CEO Ruth Allen joins BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour to discuss the findings from our survey of over 1400 social workers.
- BASW and SWU comment on how COVID-19 is exacerbating the already-high pressures on workforce
- SWU member Carys Phillips joins TalkRadio to highlight the pressures on UK social workers and how they have been exacerbated by Covid-19 and the pandemic
- BASW CEO Ruth Allen speaks to The Guardian about caseloads, the impact of Covid-19 and urges practitioners to be given more self-autonomy
- BASW England’s Maris Stratulis highlights BASW’s Professional Support Service as a tool to help the sector
- Lewis Roberts speaks to BBC News about the challenges that social workers are facing in managing dealing a rise in demand in fostering during the pandemic
- BASW PO Gavin Moorghen and SWU’s John McGowan warn about the consequences of a “burnt out” workforce
- BASW member Andy Tutte guest joins BBC Radio Merseyside to explain how the pandemic, following years of austerity, has impacted social work by increasing caseloads
- BASW’s NI national director Carolyn Ewart calls for the UK government to fund improved working conditions to improve retention
- BASW PO Denise Monks highlights that experienced social workers leaving an under-resourced sector which is facing increasing demand.
- BASW Chair Gerry Nosowska appeared on Channel 4 News and Sky News to highlight the unworkable pressures on social workers and depletion of resources
- BASW raises awareness of abuse of social workers and condemns this unacceptable behaviour
- BASW’s Anthony Dhadwal warns we aren’t doing enough to retain experienced professionals, while new social workers aren’t being supported enough at the beginning of their careers.
- On Channel 4 News BASW’s first annual survey warns of an overstretched workforce dealing with a pandemic driven rise in caseload and deterioration in working conditions
- Coverage of BASW’s survey focuses on staff shortages, high vacancy rates and our call to Government to launch a nationwide recruitment campaign
- SWU’s John McGowan reveals the increased pressures facing social workers from rising poverty levels and calls for union action
- SWU’s John McGowan calls for better protection and working conditions for social workers and says they need to be “feel valued”
- BASW Chair of England Committee, Vava Tampa, is interviewed on BBC Breakfast to highlight the serious and soaring demands on social work services as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.
- BASW member *Andy and BASW England PO Liz Howard join Steph McGovern on her Packed Lunch Channel 4 show to talk about the mental impact on social workers from increased caseloads and complex cases
- “Social work is often the forgotten sector”, argues BASW, while highlighting poor working conditions, stagnant wages and poor levels of support for both experienced and new social workers.
- SWU's John McGowan appears on BBC Radio 5 Live to highlight poor working conditions and a lack of resources that are holding the profession back
- BASW England chair Vava Tampa on Channel 4 News lays out exactly what is needed to help children’s social workers manage poor working conditions and how to lower caseloads
- SASW Chair Jude Esther appears on Channel 5 to defend social work and provide context on increasing pressures from rising complex caseloads and retention of workforce issues
- An interview with BASW CEO Ruth Allen in The Guardian references stats on showing recruitment and retention challenges from our latest survey