Local authorities introduce ‘welcome payments’ in agency recruitment battle

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent to all 151 top-tier local authorities in England by CYP Now finds that almost one third of councils that responded now offer such incentive payments – known as “golden hellos”.

Of these, 45 per cent introduced them in last three years as competition for social workers has increased amid rising vacancy rates.

Meanwhile, 15 per cent of local authorities which responded to the request say they offer retention packages as high as £12,000 to encourage social workers to stay with the local authority long-term.

The British Association of Social Workers confirmed that it has seen a growth in financial incentives offered in areas where local authorities are “competing with agencies” to recruit staff.

“We are seeing some agencies charging very high rates to councils, where not all of it goes to the social worker, but they are attracting some staff due to higher pay and lower caseloads,” a spokesperson said.

Brighter Future’s for Children, which runs children’s services in Reading, introduced a £5,000 payment in April this year for qualified case-holding social workers joining its family intervention and access and assessment teams. Social workers are paid £2,500 after the completion of six months probation and a further £2,500 after a year in the role.

Lara Patel, Brighter Futures for Children’s executive director of children’s services for Reading said: “We’d far rather use our limited budget to reward our permanent social workers than spend this money – and more – on recruitment fees to agencies and on higher, hourly rates for temporary workers who can’t offer our children the stability we’ve promised them.”

Oxfordshire County Council introduced a £2,500 welcome payment 20 years ago, but in 2023 it moved to an offer which sees a total payment of £3,500 paid in instalments over a period of two years.

Jean Kelly, deputy director of children’s services at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “Welcome and loyalty payments have certainly helped bridge the gaps between agency pay rates and the salary they would receive as a permanent employee.”

The council has “converted” six agency workers to local authority staff in 2022/23, however Kelly is among a raft of council leaders who say financial incentives are not the only element needed to compete.

“Those that have converted have done so because they enjoyed the working environment at Oxfordshire County Council, felt supported by their teams and wanted job stability along with the benefits one received being a permanent employee – our comprehensive pension scheme being one of them,” she added.

Incentives including a four-week sabbatical for social workers in West Berkshire, increased training and loans for travel are among benefits offered by local authorities as part of a retention package.

Latest Department for Education figures, published in February, show that the number of children’s social worker vacancies are at the highest level since 2017.

Meanwhile, in 2022, there were fewer children and family social worker starters than leavers in 2022 for the first time since 2017 and on 31 September last year there were 6,800 agency social workers – the highest number of agency social workers in post since government recording of such data began five years ago.

Download Now