Carve out your career steps, build your skills / CPD and protect your wellbeing.
Members in the UK who have been qualified and have worked in a social work position for less than five years enjoy a discounted membership for early career social workers.
This option is only available to existing and current BASW Student members moving to our Newly Qualified category.
| Category | Direct Debit / monthly |
|---|---|
| Existing student members 50% discount for first post-qualifying year of work | £9.18 / month |
| Working (qualified for less than five years) | £18.35 / month |
Member benefits
Protection, representation and support
- Protection and support.
Access advice from BASW Advice and Representation, a team of qualified social workers, for professional and regulatory help. Our team of qualified social workers understand the issues you face and are able to advise and represent you at regulatory councils, advising over 1,500 members every year.
BASW also works with the Social Workers Union (SWU) to guarantee members the legal entitlement of representation in employers’ hearings.
Opt into SWU for just £2.50 a month (£30 a year) – or just 83p a month (£10 a year) for unwaged and student member.
- Free and confidential one-to-one peer coaching.
The Social Work Professional Support Services. Protect your wellbeing, talk about career progression and map out your plans with an experienced coach.
- Insurance.
Feel safe in knowing you have £5 million professional indemnity insurance. Find out more about BASW Insurance and answer questions such as: "Do I need Professional Indemnity insurance?", "Do all social work professionals require Professional Indemnity insurance?", "What does the professional indemnity cover?"
Build your CPD and best practice
- Training and CPD.
Develop your knowledge and skills and carve out your career path with free and discounted CPD.
- Build your skills and carve out your career steps through our professional development courses.
Enjoy discounted rates to specialised event programmes, training and events. Early-career social workers and newly qualified social workers enjoy very low rates for all our events, programmes and meetings. We run a number of courses and events including the rolling BASW NQSW CPD programme tailored to support you post qualification, delivered by accredited training partners and specialised events to support direct social work practice and skills development.
- Learn about the latest social work practice developed by and for social workers.
- Supporting your re-registration with your regulator, learn about the latest social work practice through online articles and journals.
- Log your CPD from a range of free or discounted training, online resources and events.
Plus members benefit from a discounted rate for our annual BASW social work conferences across the UK, led by the voice of social work, practice leaders, people who use services, policy makers and academics.
- Download the time-effective resources you need, all under one roof.
There’s a lot to think about during your early career but BASW can support and signpost you to resources to help in your day-to-day work. Benefit from the weekly email which highlights key updates in the sector and keeps you feeling informed.
- Social Work Conferences.
Discounted rates for BASW social work conferences across the UK, led by the voice of social work, practice leaders, people who use services, policy makers and academics.
Campaigns and influence
- Campaigns and lobbying
Your voice inspires our campaigns. Together we’ll drive positive change and influence what matters in social work today.
We continue to lobby UK government for a better understanding of social work and social workers.
We are campaigning for improved professional working conditions, relationship-based practice and for an end to and poverty.
Save
- Claim tax back on your membership subscription
If you are a UK tax payer and pay for your BASW membership fee yourself, you can claim tax relief on professional association membership subscriptions. You can claim up to four years’ subscription fees. Find out more on the HM Revenue & Customs website. If you make a claim using SRS Ltd’s service, the company will pay £10 to the Social Workers’ Benevolent Trust. Please be aware BASW is listed as Social Workers British Association of on the HMRC website. (Terms and conditions apply)Social Workers Union (SWU)
- Social Workers Union (SWU)
Discounted membership of the Social Workers Union (SWU) – our partner specialist union for social workers
| Category | Additional cost / monthly |
|---|---|
| SWU membership for BASW Working Category members | + £2.50 / month |
Opting in to SWU means you get all the benefits of the trade union alongside BASW, your professional association – all under one roof. To make it easy, you pay one monthly or annual fee and you are signposted to where you need to go across a network working to support you at any time you need it.
- Save on discounted books in the BASW Bookshop
- Journals
Receive up to 75% off subscriptions to the British Journal of Social Work and Practice: Social Work in Action
| Additional subscription | Additional cost / monthly |
|---|---|
| British Journal of Social Work online only | + £3.00 / month |
| British Journal of Social Work print and online | + £4.17 / month |
| Practice: Social Work in Action print | + £2.50 / month |
Connect
- Network and connect with like-minded colleagues to discuss practice and share knowledge and ideas.
- Extend your networks online and offline through regional branches, special interest groups, events, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
- Join our community of social workers online – through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Professional practice
- Code of Ethics
Apply BASW’s Code of Ethics to your work placements and uphold the highest professional standards and practice
- MBASW
Show your commitment to professional practice and use MBASW after your name.
