Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Latest News

Council to pay more to boost recruitment

by Personnel Today 2 Dec 2003
by Personnel Today 2 Dec 2003

Durham
County Council social services has solved its chronic recruitment problems by
becoming the first in the UK to offer different salaries to social workers in
the same pay grade.

The
local authority is offering those who work with adults up to £25,911, and those
who work with families and children up to £28,320.

The
council is also attracting young talent by offering a £2,000 bursary scheme to
final year social work students, which commits successful candidates to
remaining with the authority for one year 
after qualification.

The
result of the recruitment initiative is a drop of 31 social worker vacancies
for children in need to only nine.

The
response to this single recruitment campaign has been unprecedented at the
council, and puts vacancy levels well below the national average.

The
changes came in response to persistent difficulties with recruitment and
retention, with vacancy rates in children and families’ fieldwork teams
averaging 22.3 per cent – almost double the national average.

Peter
Appleton, head of HR for social services at the council, said that a huge
vacancy list had been wiped out in one go, and this was a salutary lesson that
should be considered nationwide.

"The
key message is that we can no longer take a broad-brush approach to recruitment,"
he said. "We have to understand that all jobs are not the same."

Appleton
said that trade unions had asked for increases across the board, but the
council had made it clear that the lower level of vacancies did not merit this
approach.

"This
is a hard line, but a positive line, which we will keep under review," he
said.

By Michael Millar

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
Unions demand action over work drugs tests
next post
Religious discrimination outlawed from today

You may also like

NHS to end full pay for Covid-19 sick...

4 Jul 2022

Government childcare plans aim to reduce cost of...

4 Jul 2022

Whistleblowing lawyer awarded £423k by Foreign Office

4 Jul 2022

Diversity and inclusion: where does the buck stop?

4 Jul 2022

Quarter of workers feel unsupported after bereavement

1 Jul 2022

Employment law changes for 2022 and beyond: update...

1 Jul 2022

BT workers vote for strike action over pay

1 Jul 2022

Chief financial officers now more involved in HR

1 Jul 2022

Top 10 HR questions June 2022: Former employees

1 Jul 2022

Pay all care workers a £10.50 hourly minimum...

30 Jun 2022
  • NSPCC revamps its learning strategy with child wellbeing at its heart PROMOTED | The NSPCC’s mission is to prevent abuse and neglect...Read more
  • Diversity versus inclusion: Why the difference matters PROMOTED | It’s possible for an environment to be diverse, but not inclusive...Read more
  • Five steps for organisations across the globe to become more skills-driven PROMOTED | The shift in the world of work has been felt across the globe...Read more
  • The future of workforce development PROMOTED | Northumbria University and partners share insight...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+