Social Worker Salary
There are no salary scales that apply Nationally across all facets of social work and all employers. Local Authority social work jobs and those in Health Care trusts will use some kind of social worker salary scale but even these will vary between different Authorities and Trusts, geographic region and scope of job.
A social worker salary in the UK will vary dependent on several factors:
- level of experience
- level of responsibility
- area of specialism
- employing authority
- geographical location
Social Worker Starting Salary:
As of August 2009 the typical starting salary for a freshly qualified fully trained social worker is between £23,500 and £30,000 per annum. Where you are placed in this range will depend largely on the area of specialism and geographical location. Social work jobs in London and the South East will usually offer salaries towards the top end of this specified range.
Social Worker Early Management Roles:
With a solid record of proven good performance and given the right opportunity then an early management role should be achievable for the social worker with 2-3 years experience. Salaries at this level will start at around £30,000 and rise to typically £42,000 after several years experience. Social work jobs in the South East and London will attract salaries at the higher end of this scale.
Social Worker Senior Management Roles:
This level of Social Work would not normally be achievable without 10-15 years experience in the field of which many of these years should be at a more junior level of management. Typical salary for Senior Management Social Work would be approx £57,000. But again this is difficult to accurately state since there are many variables involved.
Social Worker Working Hours and Benefits:
The number of hours a typical social worker is required to work is 37 hours per week. In social work there are often part time jobs and job share jobs available which require fewer hours to be worked and the number of hours required dependent on the specific job concerned. Residential social work jobs often require unsocial hours to be worked. Other types of social work jobs may include frequent visits to service users and in such cases car user allowances or car lease schemes are usually available.