The 'hello' that is worth £5,000 to social workers in Milton Keynes

Social services bosses are hoping the incentive will prompt high quality applicants to join their ranks.

Victoria Collins, acting director of adult Services for the council, said this week: “The challenges of recruiting experienced social workers at both national and regional level are well known.

“Whilst our occupancy rate is in line with the national average, we are keen to build on this and to attract further experienced adult social workers, who are looking to commit their career to the Milton Keynes community.”

She added: “Our golden hello offer recognises the value of this role and includes a loyalty clause to ensure we attract the desired calibre of applicant.”

The £5,000 incentive applies to social workers at Grade G or H level. It is not offered to newly qualified social workers (Grade F), whose starting salary is between £23,866 and £28,221.

The Grade G salary is between £29,055 and £33,136, while a Grade H social worker in MK would earn between £34,106 and £38,052.

Ms Collins said: “Quality and continuity of care are both deeply important to the adults we support. We strive to be competitive in terms of our offer to staff, including our commitment to career development, and this trial will help to inform our plans for the future.”

For application details see https://bit.ly/2T2PRTK #socialwork #socialworker