Absolutely 100% agree with both Anna and Christina. Agency staff are often also overloaded and expected to pick up cases that perm staff are often protected from.
We work hard. Form the same relationships and give great service.
We add to the team we are in at any one time but senior managers often fail to see our real value added.

You clearly have no experience of being an agency social worker and have bought into the scapegoating, generic, limited and inaccurate picture of agency social workers.
Agency social workers, do not get excessively paid over permanent staff, as we pay more tax & NI than perm staff. Also we don’t get sick pay or holiday pay.
What agency work can offer is the ability to leave local authorities where their are bullying cultures, poor leadership and high caseload than if we were permanent, which I have seen and experienced when permanent for the first six years of my career.
I have held agency positions for periods of a year, and two years in different authorities, as well as shorter lengths, so please don’t perpetuate the three month myth. If workers only stay for short periods, maybe ask why? What’s the culture, behaviour and expectations placed on workers when they come to failing authorities but can’t turn the tide of poor practice & poor outcomes for children.
Are their agency works who are lazy, don’t pull their weight and don’t support families well, of course, just like there are permanent workers who do that too.
Don’t jump on the bandwagon, use your analytical skills, many children’s services provide a poor service to children and families and the answers and solutions are not as simple as permanent v agency staff, they include ineffective leadership, funding, council priorities, different social issues in different authorities including poverty, poor housing, crime, inequality.
Also look at the salaries of children’s services senior leaders and ask yourself why people on such huge salaries considered the ‘brightest and the best’ haven’t solved the issues in decades?

Oh dear Connie what a dismissive, uniformed and short-sighted view you have.

I totally agree with you Anna.

I am passionate about being a social worker and have chosen to be agency for 20 years. If you were to come to my home you’d see I am not materialistic. Being an agency worker suits my lifestyle. I don’t need to explain that to anyone but me and mine.

I mainly work in the Midlands but have also worked in different parts of the UK, again through choice. I also like weekly pay.

Hear this; In some local authorities if it wasn’t for agency workers they wouldn’t have a service.

Every where I have worked I have met workers who work hard and are committed to our profession.

I have also met and am aware of the ‘sicky, sicky brigade’ who take sick leave at the ‘drop of a hat’. There are also workers who ‘stagnate for years on end’/won’t come out of their comfort zones and are simply not fit for purpose. They are also unlikely to be offered a role elsewhere.

If I don’t work, I don’t get paid! I was hospitalised with covid in 2021 and had to take 4 months off. I managed financially because I saved my hard earned cash.

My advice to you Connie; Come over to the dark side and see how long you last? Probably not very long.

I know I am a damn good Social worker who is nearly 60 years of age and still enjoy working on the front line.

There’s 20 years work then, of course there’s 20 years experience…What do you have?

Lastly, the amount of incompetence I have observed by some ‘permanent’ staff is incredulous AND it appears to go unchallenged by self appointed not fit for purpose so called ‘team managers’..(getting younger and younger)…. We wonder why our profession is in the state it is? Endless!

I don’t agree.

Think that is really scapgoating agency sw we will stay for as long as if the culture is okay bullying and overload of cases is the main reason we leave permanent staff are protected more also setting agency against permanent staff is unhelpful we should all stand together and fight against the working conditions

If locum Social Workers could be paid the same salary as permanent Practitioners.They will ultimayely opt for a permanent job.Tjey ate aytracted by the money not the passion.Social Work requirs consistency not someone coming for three months, quick fix and leave .In most cases, the permanent staff a left to pick up the pieces.No, quality work at all.