Support given to social workers in Leeds by their employer the city council must be improved, after recent disorder left an employee injured, says UNISON today (Monday).
The incident in Harehills last month resulted in hundreds of people demonstrating angrily in the streets, with a police car overturned and a double decker bus set on fire, after social workers attended an address there.
Much of the disorder seen that night, which resulted in a number of arrests, has become widely regarded as ‘normal’ for social workers in the city, the union adds.
Social workers often have to deal with gangs of people gathering around their vehicles or actually coming into the property they’re visiting in an attempt to intimidate, says UNISON. Staff have also been threatened with machetes and knives, adds the union.
Social workers have also told UNISON that working alone in such hostile and threatening circumstances is common, mainly because of a lack of staffing and resources. Staff also feel that challenging visits have become so commonplace that managers at the local authority now view them as part of a normal working day.
Since the recent disorder, staff have been threatened by an individual during an assessment session, who said he would “burn the building down and give them a repeat of Harehills”, adds UNISON.
The union says the council has failed to learn any lessons from the Harehills riot, demonstrated by the fact that an agency social work assistant was sent to make contact with the same family on her own, just days after starting with the council. Unsurprisingly, says UNISON, the worker quit after just four days.
Low staff morale and poor communication generally between teams and their managers have also been raised as concerns by social workers, says UNISON.
UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside regional secretary Karen Loughlin said: “Last month’s riot in Harehills was shocking, but sadly a lot of the factors that led up to the incident have become the norm for social workers in Leeds.
“They’re trying to do what are incredibly challenging jobs in situations that are often intimidating, threatening and potentially violent.
“Staff are being told to park close to the houses they’re visiting, and take off their ID badges, in an effort to keep them safe. But frankly, it’s just not good enough.
“The council has at least said it is going to review the incident. UNISON and the social workers it represents must be part of that.
“But lessons need to be learned, and quickly. Leeds must look beyond this incident, and enhance the support it provides to social workers.”
