BASW writes to MP about Social Work Employment Services (SWES)

The letter to Ruth Cadbury MP outlined the employment service set up by BASW, which we are keen to promote as a model of best practice

Earlier this month, BASW Chief Executive Ruth Allen wrote to Ruth Cadbury MP, one of the Co-Chairs of the Loan Charge All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).

The APPG has been looking at umbrella companies that were set up further to the HRMCs IR35 guidance which came into force in the public sector in 2017.   This impacts those that are self-employed or work for agencies and must meet the obligations that come with that.

The letter to Ruth Cadbury MP outlined the employment service set up by BASW, which we are keen to promote as a model of best practice.

The Social Work Employment Service (SWES) is an umbrella company designed specifically for social workers. Whilst most social workers are direct employees of local authorities, a significant number are agency staff and there was a need for a service that allowed tax and other legal obligations to be met, employers of agency staff to be reassured, and social workers to feel confident that their personal obligations were being met.

We encourage all agency and self-employed social workers to look into Social Work Employment Servicies, to see if it would be beneficial for them.

We launched the service in August, and we are the only ethical and not-for-profit umbrella company in the UK. Social Work Employment Servicies has also been picked up by the Trade Union Congress as a model of good practice.

Feedback we have had from members of Social Work Employment Servicies tells us that it has provided them with a stress-free solution to their employment needs.

For more information visit our dedicated website for Social Work Employment Servicies.