With 15 years of social work practice split between agency and permanent roles, he was ideally placed to give us some insights into the pros and cons of each.
Originally from Sierra Leone, a motivator for Sam to pursue a career in social work was his experience working for an international aid organisation to protect and support vulnerable people, including vulnerable children and families who had been affected by a long-running conflict. His work there played a key role in shaping his future career.
“In Sierra Leone we had about ten years of civil war, and people were exposed to a lot of risk and danger. I’m a Catholic Christian, and for five years or so I worked for an organisation called Catholic Relief Services. They support deprived communities, protect children and provide for families. When I had the opportunity to come to the UK, that was still my motivation to concentrate my efforts on supporting and protecting children and vulnerable groups in society.”
After qualifying in 2010, Sam held permanent roles for five years, before moving to an agency role. He wanted to spend some of his time working for a charity back in Sierra Leone and his new role afforded him the flexibility to do this.
“The decision was mostly driven by the flexibility that [agency social work] provided, as well as the additional income it brought in. Because I was part of that working model in Sierra Leone, I decided I wanted to continue supporting those families. There were times when I wanted a few weeks to go back to Africa and do some relief work, and becoming a locum gave me that flexibility to take several weeks out and do my charity work.”
After a number of agency roles, Sam found himself working in Bexley. It was here that he decided to make the switch back to permanent practice. Having spent time working across a range of local authorities, Sam had been offered permanent roles in the past. However, Bexley made their offer to Sam feel personal and sincere while providing an opportunity to chat through his options without feeling pressured into a decision. Sam felt that he was a good fit with Bexley’s workplace culture:
“One of the things that really motivated me to go permanent when I came to Bexley was the structure and the people. I had some senior staff members who really took the time to talk to me. They held some meetings where locums were invited and they explained some of the benefits of becoming permanent – that’s when I became really interested, based on my current needs.”
While the option to take longer periods of time out for aid work had been a useful advantage of locum social work, Sam found himself thinking more about stability and career progression. The flexibility of agency social work also came with a degree of uncertainty, which could make putting down roots in a particular authority a challenge:
“At this point I really want stability within my work. As much as agency work can provide that flexibility and additional income, it doesn’t provide you with stability at all. I’ve been in so many local authorities, usually on a three-month basis, but as soon as your position is filled up by permanent staff, you have to leave.”
Sam also highlighted how working on shorter-term contracts can make it more difficult to build the positive relationships that are crucial to delivering good outcomes. At times, this makes short-term work less fulfilling:
“It has an emotional impact as well, because it can come during a time when you’ve really started to build a relationship with the children you work with. It doesn’t always give you those opportunities to build good working relationships with the children, families and also the professionals you work with.”
Professional development opportunities were another factor that made Sam feel like permanent social work was the right choice at this stage in his career. Since taking on a permanent role at Bexley, Sam has progressed to become an Assistant Team Manager. In the longer-term, he aspires to make the most of his extensive frontline experience in a mentoring or workforce development role. As a permanent staff member, Sam has been able to work towards his Practice Educator qualifications in Bexley, something that would have been harder to do as an agency social worker:
“The permanent role has provided me with stability, career progression, and support with further training. I’ve already been able to move to an Assistant Manager position, and I’ve just been given the opportunity to start my PEP1 (Practice Education Training), which is really good as well. I wouldn’t have been able to pay from my own money when I was working as a locum.”
Overall, while the freedom and flexibility of temporary roles was a good fit for an earlier part of Sam’s social work journey, he has found that the current stage of his career is more suited to working on a more stable, longer-term basis. Sam had some advice for fellow professionals who might be weighing up the pros and cons of agency and permanent work:
“I think for some of us who have done locum work for a long time, you can become ingrained in that outlook on work, and you maybe lose sight of some of the other benefits a permanent role might bring. I found that becoming permanent staff gives you an opportunity to sit back and really look and reflect on yourself, your career, and work out exactly where you want to go next”
If you're considering moving from agency social work to a permanent role, now is a great time the time to do so – London’s local authorities provide a wealth of support offerings which can help you make the move. The benefits of career development, stability, job security and work-life balance often outweigh short-term financial gains. Discover more about making the switch.
Find out more about working with Sam in Bexley and view the borough's current social work job opportunities.