Graduating from university with a degree in social work does not give you the ability to walk straight into a long and happy career as a social worker. The profession is a very tightly regulated one, as social workers are exposed to vulnerable adults and children on a daily basis. Local authorities have to be sure that the people they are employing are suitable for these positions and that they have the qualifications they claim. The consequences for appointing an unregistered social worker could be very serious indeed.

GSCC Register

The register of social workers run and maintained by the General Social Care Council is compulsory for all social work graduates and students who are likely to be seeking work. Social workers who qualified abroad can also register with the GSCC if they are likely to be seeking social care work in the UK. For the privilege of registering and having your details kept in a searchable file that is open to prospective employers, you have to pay an annual fee; but of course you cannot get a job in social work without the GSCC registration!

In order to remain registered with the GSCC, you must pay your annual fee and make sure your details are updated every year. You are also obliged to undergo 15 days of additional training every three years, to make sure that your social work education is as up-to-date as possible. Details of this training can also be found in your GSCC file. It can take around three weeks for a social worker to be registered with the GSCC, depending on their backlog of applications, so it is worth applying while a student to hopefully speed the process up once you have graduated.

Social Work Codes of Practice

By registering with the GSCC you agree to adhere to their codes of practice, whether you are a qualified social worker or not. This means that social work has a similar system to the medical profession and that is employers or colleagues feel that some element of a social worker’s behaviour or conduct is bringing their registration into question, then they can be investigated by the GSCC and their case could be heard before a conduct hearing. In serious cases, they can be struck from the register and would no longer be able to work as a social worker. In reality, this would only happen if there had been very serious breaches of the codes of practice, copies of which are given to every social worker upon registration. Social workers are in very trusted positions and should not abuse that trust or take advantage of the situations that they can find themselves in; the General Social Care Council and the Care Quality Commission are responsible for enforcing the correct standards on social work employees in England, while there are similar bodies responsible for the behaviour of social workers registered in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
 

 
Once you have started on the path to a career in social work, your studying days are not over, however. Every local authority and the General Social Care Council, plus its equivalent bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, insist that social workers continue their training by regularly attending conferences and seminars. Sometimes these events will introduce new topics or research findings and on other occasions, it might just be going over old ground in an area that the social worker has not dealt with for a long time. After all, a social worker that has spent ten years working with children and then decides to switch to working with the elderly might have forgotten all the important information and advice they picked up at university, unless they attended regular ongoing training.

GSCC Requirements

As part of your registration with the General Social Care Council, all qualified social workers are required to take 15 days of training every three years. At the moment, the decision about what kind of training this involves is taken jointly by the social worker and their boss. Continued development in the workplace is also a good idea if you want to make a career out of social work, perhaps take on a more senior or even a management position. Maybe you would like to go into training yourself, in which case keeping up to date with the latest research and techniques is essential. As well as attending the required training courses, may social workers keep abreast of news in their industry by reading magazines such as Community Care or The New Social Worker which both feature articles written by experts on the new developments in the profession.

Social Work Career Path

From your initial role as a probationary social worker, it is possible to progress up the career path relatively quickly. This may seem like a frightening prospect; taking on more responsibility when you have only just graduated, but there are always more senior social workers in your department who can support you and help answer any questions. Social workers may choose to go into management. This would mean that they no longer deal with their own cases, but manage the workload of the office and supervise the activities of the social workers under them. This might not be for you, if your reason for getting involved in the profession was to get your hands dirty helping people! There are senior social workers in every department and those who act as mentors to new graduates, all of which requires patience and understanding, as social work can be a very demanding career to someone just starting out.
 

 
As well as having to follow the codes of practice laid down by the General Social Care Council regarding their professional behaviour and conduct as a social worker, employees also have to follow rules relating to standards and ethics. Social workers have access to very private and secret information about people’s lives and should not reveal that information or take advantage of their knowledge. In dealing with vulnerable people, it is essential that social workers treat all their clients fairly and do not take advantage of the bond and trust that can develop between them. If any social worker is found to have broken the codes of standards and ethics relating to the profession, then they can be struck off the register and lose their position.

Social Work Conduct

The standards and ethics relating to the social work profession are dealt with under the banner of “conduct” which the GSCC and other regulatory bodies take very seriously. If there are serious concerns that a social worker is unable to do their job because of actions they have taken then the GSCC will investigate. These allegations would have to involve another party who is on the Social Care Register and can include taking advantage of or abusing a person who is using the social care services, their work has fallen below the expected standards, leading to service users being put at risk and behaving in a certain way outside of work that has called the profession into disrepute.

We have all seen examples of the middle problem on the news, when over-worked social workers lose track of cases leading to disastrous consequences for those, usually children, involved. Usually this is not down to negligence but due to the fact that there are not enough social workers employed to deal with all the cases. However, these cases that make the headlines are the reasons that young, inexperienced social workers should speak to their superiors; before the case becomes a matter for the authorities.

Consequences for Social Workers

If the GSCC decide there is a case to answer, then the social worker involved may be asked to appear before the conduct committee. They will hear the evidence that the GSCC has uncovered and also listen to the social worker’s defence of their actions. There are several punishments that can be imposed on a social worker who is found guilty of misconduct. In serious cases, they can be removed from the register and will no longer be able to work as a social worker, or most likely in the entire social care industry, again. The social worker can be suspended for up to two years, removing them temporarily from the profession, or they can be issued with an admonishment, or public caution, which would remain on their records. All of these would have serious consequences for someone looking to pursue a career in social work, so it is essential that newly qualified students are made aware of the behaviour, standards and ethics that are expected of them while they are a social worker.
 

 
What is the difference between social work and social care?

Social workers have to have a degree in order to carry out their work, which involves taking charge of cases that need attention and co-ordinating a social care plan. Social care workers may be part of this plan, by providing personal care or counselling to social work clients, but they are not involved in making decisions about the level of care that is needed. Social care workers often have jobs in residential homes or in the homes of elderly people.

Who employs social workers?

If you are a recently qualified social worker looking for a job, then your prospective employers will be your local council. They will often have a website where all their vacancies are advertised. Some charitable organisations, such as the NSPCC, or those providing supported living will also employ social workers, but the majority of graduates work for councils.

I have a conviction for a minor criminal offence – can I still become a social worker?

You would need to discuss this is more detail with the General Social Care Council who are responsible for registering social workers and making sure they are suitable people to be trusted with vulnerable clients. You may have to provide a personal reference, testifying to your good character if there is a blemish on your record.

Are overseas social work qualifications recognised in the UK?

If you are from the EU, then the social work qualification from your home country will be recognised in the UK and you can work here as a social worker. If you qualified in another country, then the GSCC must make sure that the training you received is up to the standards of that provided in the UK before allowing you to work. This is called the equivalency procedure.

Will I need to work for a year as a probationary social worker?

Not necessarily. As part of your degree course, you are required to work for 200 days in a social work environment, but if you have achieved that figure while studying, then you can expect to start work straight away as a social worker. Sometimes, the GSCC might decide that someone needs to spend more time being supervised as a probationer before being given their own cases, but this is unlikely to be for a whole year.