NIASW investigation reveals social work agency paying fast food wages

A Government-recommended recruitment agency in Northern Ireland has come under fire for paying qualified social workers little more than unskilled McDonalds staff.

An investigation by the Northern Ireland Association of Social Workers (NIASW – part of BASW) found that First Choice Selection (FCS) pays a newly qualified band 5 social worker just £6.75 an hour, equal to £13,162 a year. That compares to a starting salary of £6.05 an hour for a newly recruited “crew member” at the fast food chain.

The rate is below the agreed recommended minimum hourly rate for a band 5 social worker of £10.85 and the £15.12 paid by other agencies in Northern Ireland. It also falls short of the living wage of £7.41. Despite this, FCS is listed as the preferred provider of social care staff to the country’s five health and social care trusts by the Business Service Organisation (BSO), a procurement body used by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety Northern Ireland (DHSSPS).

NIASW Manager Carolyn Ewart urged social workers not to sign up to FCS and called on the DHSSPS to act. “It is utterly unacceptable that a graduate who has undergone three years training for one of the toughest jobs in the world is paid little more than someone doing an unskilled job. This is not to demean people who work in places such as McDonalds, it’s about the value we place on social workers.

“We are highly skilled professionals who can be expected to give evidence in court one day and assess if a child is being abused the next. For the Government to promote an agency that apparently thinks so little of our skills is an affront to our profession.”

According to NIASW’s research, FCS’s hourly pay for a band 5 social worker is also less than that paid by supermarkets Tesco (£11.79 for a graduate) and Aldi (£7.20 for checkout staff). An experienced band 6 social worker with FCS only gets £9.60 an hour compared to the £22 paid by other social care recruitment agencies further down BSO’s list of providers.

Other professionals employed by FCS appear to get paid better. A psychologist gets £20.12 an hour, a nurse £12.

Ms Ewart added: “We recommend social workers in Northern Ireland not to register with First Choice Selection until it starts recognising the value of our profession.”
Northern Ireland’s health trusts are required to go to BSO’s top ranked supplier first when recruiting social care staff.

BSO maintains FSC was awarded its first place ranking following a “competitive process conducted in accordance with the regulations”.

It stressed that FSC operated the 'Swedish Derogation', which provides agency workers with payments in between assignments.

However, a spokesperson said: “The Department has written to the HSC trusts, the BSO and the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) to highlight the professional status and role of the social work profession.

In addition, NISCC is planning a workshop for all recruitment agencies who employ social workers, to confirm with them their responsibility as an employer in relation to the NISCC Code of Practice for Employers.”

FCS declined to comment when contacted.