Black social workers more likely to progress through Fitness to Practice stages
Black social workers are more likely to progress to investigation and hearing stages in fitness-to-practice (FtP) proceedings, a Social Work England report reveals.
The finding comes from updated analysis of the regulator’s diversity data, looking at whether some groups of social workers are more likely than others to progress.
The research covers all 6,789 FtP referrals received between 2 December 2019 and 31 March 2024.
The regulator analysed what was happening at different stages of its FtP process considering characteristics including ethnicity, age, gender, religion and disability, alongside the social worker’s region and employer.
Who made the referral and the type of concerns raised were also examined.
The analysis looked at three stages of the process: pre-triage, triage and case examination, where cases move from initial administration checks, to being assessed under ‘reasonable grounds’, to full investigation once evidence has been gathered.
It found a marked difference in the ethnic profile of cases as they progress.
At triage stage, cases involving Black social workers were 1.44 times as likely to be deemed worthy of investigation as cases involving white social workers.
At case examination stage, cases involving Black social workers were 2.08 times as likely to lead to a practitioner's fitness to practice being deemed to be impaired, when compared to white counterparts.
Social Work England said the findings needed to be treated with caution, arguing "the report is explicit that these patterns do not, on their own, explain why the disparities exist".
But the regulator acknowledged that ethnicity is linked to whether a case progressed. The report states: “Cases involving Black, African, Caribbean and Black British social workers were more likely to progress at both the triage and case examiner stages of the process, even after taking account of a wide range of other factors.”
The regulator says possible explanations could include bias or discrimination, differences in the seriousness of cases, or wider factors within the social work workforce.
Further research is planned.
Other variances
Across different stages, cases involving convictions, sexual misconduct, safeguarding, professional boundaries, record-keeping and court proceedings were more likely to progress than cases involving poor or inappropriate communication.
At the case-examiner stage, dishonesty cases were twice as likely to progress as those involving poor or inappropriate communication.
Age and gender produced more mixed results than ethnicity.
At the case-examiner stage, cases involving social workers aged 30 to 39 were 0.59 times more likely to progress than those involving social workers aged 40 to 49. No other significant age differences were identified.
Cases involving male social workers were 1.32 times more likely to progress at triage than those involving female social workers, but that difference was no longer evident at case examination.
Geography also played a role at different points. At pre-triage, cases involving social workers employed in the East of England, Southeast and Yorkshire and Humber were between one-and-a-half and twice as likely to progress as cases in the East Midlands.
At case examination, cases from the Northwest, London and Southeast were between twice and three times as likely to progress as those from the East Midlands.
The findings build on SWE’s first diversity analysis, published in 2023, and a subsequent dataset from 2024, both of which identified higher representation in the FtP process among people from Black, African, Caribbean and Black British backgrounds, social workers aged 40 and over, and male social workers.
Social Work England says the latest research will inform a wider programme of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) work. This includes an internal review of its FtP decision-making guidance and equality impact assessments, as well as an East of England pilot on the lived experience of Black men involved in FtP proceedings, plus strengthened EDI guidance for staff and decision-makers.
The regulator has also introduced fair referral principles for employers and is working with employers through its Single Point of Contact network.
It is also collaborating with Skills for Care on the Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard, which uses workforce data to help organisations identify and address racial inequality.
Sarah Blackmore, executive director for professional practice and external engagement, said: “Every social worker who goes through the fitness to practise process deserves to know that it is fair, proportionate and applied consistently to everyone.
“We are committed to positive and sustained action. We know there is a lot more to do.
“We hope by sharing these findings we can continue to be transparent about our processes and work with social workers, their employers and those who use social work services to tackle discrimination and overrepresentation in referrals.”