Locum Social Worker/WIP
Essex County Council
Locum Social Worker/WIP
Temporary, Full Time
£225 PAYE / £288 Umbrella
Location: Chelmsford
Working Style: Anywhere worker
Closing Date: 23rd June 2026
Length of role/contract: Until the end of July
The Team
We are currently offering an experienced Social Worker the opportunity to be a part of ECC’s Centralised Safeguarding Team, a countywide team whose focus is on screening and triaging all safeguarding referrals into Adult Social Care.
The role and function of the team is to support effective decision making and ensure that safeguard referrals are progressed effectively and appropriately within specified timescales. The role will involve gathering relevant information over the phone from referrers, professionals and partners, the person themselves and family members to help inform decisions about the most appropriate next steps. There will be strong links with community and specialist ASC teams so there is an opportunity to build strong networks in all areas.
The role is mainly home-based with the team coming into the office one day a week. Team is based in County Hall, Chelmsford, Essex.
The successful applicant will be part of a team that is helping to shape how we ensure safeguarding is made personal when applying Care Act thresholds.
About You
To apply, you should be a qualified social worker with current Social Work England registration and 3 years post qualifying experience. You will bring established experience in Adult Social Care, modelling good practice and demonstrating and a comprehensive understanding of current legislation, regulations, and guidance.
We are also looking for your ability to develop strong relationships with partner agencies and the local community to provide a supportive framework for vulnerable adults.
You’ll bring:
- Evidence of continuing professional development and capability of practice in accordance with current professional standards.
- An understanding of adult safeguarding and the legislation that guides the local authority’s work
- The ability to make clear decisions, to highlight and limit potential risks associated with intervention.
Why Essex? Essex County Council has a location to be proud of. Our 1,300 square miles stretch from Constable Country to the Thames Estuary, from the dynamic M11 corridor to the traditional seaside resorts of Clacton and Walton. England’s oldest town, Colchester, and two of its newest – Basildon and Harlow – are right here. Along with the City of Chelmsford, the county town, they form our major population centres. Read more about us.
In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site
Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.
We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.
What you should do next
If you are interested in finding out more about this role, we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website.
Please note that Essex County Council has determined that the off-payroll working rules will apply to this assignment and where a worker elects to provide their services through an intermediary (such as a personal services company) then income tax and primary national insurance contributions will be deducted at source from any payments made to the intermediary.
As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service
Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community.
If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email essexsharedservices@essex.gov.uk
Length of role/contract: Until the end of July
The Team
We are currently offering an experienced Social Worker the opportunity to be a part of ECC’s Centralised Safeguarding Team, a countywide team whose focus is on screening and triaging all safeguarding referrals into Adult Social Care.
The role and function of the team is to support effective decision making and ensure that safeguard referrals are progressed effectively and appropriately within specified timescales. The role will involve gathering relevant information over the phone from referrers, professionals and partners, the person themselves and family members to help inform decisions about the most appropriate next steps. There will be strong links with community and specialist ASC teams so there is an opportunity to build strong networks in all areas.
The role is mainly home-based with the team coming into the office one day a week. Team is based in County Hall, Chelmsford, Essex.
The successful applicant will be part of a team that is helping to shape how we ensure safeguarding is made personal when applying Care Act thresholds.
About You
To apply, you should be a qualified social worker with current Social Work England registration and 3 years post qualifying experience. You will bring established experience in Adult Social Care, modelling good practice and demonstrating and a comprehensive understanding of current legislation, regulations, and guidance.
We are also looking for your ability to develop strong relationships with partner agencies and the local community to provide a supportive framework for vulnerable adults.
You’ll bring:
- Evidence of continuing professional development and capability of practice in accordance with current professional standards.
- An understanding of adult safeguarding and the legislation that guides the local authority’s work
- The ability to make clear decisions, to highlight and limit potential risks associated with intervention.
Why Essex? Essex County Council has a location to be proud of. Our 1,300 square miles stretch from Constable Country to the Thames Estuary, from the dynamic M11 corridor to the traditional seaside resorts of Clacton and Walton. England’s oldest town, Colchester, and two of its newest – Basildon and Harlow – are right here. Along with the City of Chelmsford, the county town, they form our major population centres. Read more about us.
In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site
Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.
We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.
What you should do next
If you are interested in finding out more about this role, we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website.
Please note that Essex County Council has determined that the off-payroll working rules will apply to this assignment and where a worker elects to provide their services through an intermediary (such as a personal services company) then income tax and primary national insurance contributions will be deducted at source from any payments made to the intermediary.
As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service
Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community.
If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email essexsharedservices@essex.gov.uk