Cash boost for social workers to fill borough void

A cash incentive of £3,000 will be paid to social workers working with children in the Royal Borough.

The decision has been taken to combat the council's problems with filling in vacancies following the high profile case of Baby P which shocked the nation last year.

On top of the cash boost, salaries for a newly qualified children social worker will also be increased from £23,880 to £24,688. Senior practitioner's salaries will increase from £31,796 to £32,669.

Councillors decided to pay its workers the financial incentive at an employment panel on Tuesday last week.

Panel chairman Cllr David Burbage (Con, Bray) told the Advertiser: "There is a big problem with recruiting staff in this sector, and demand for social workers is high."

The council will also increase the workers annual leave from 28 to 30 days.