hokeypokey

What good timing for me to be logging back in here -I have a wee look every now and then to see if anything interesting is being talked about.

I'm currently working as youth justice SW for CYF - started off in care & protection and have now transferred across. For me I took the job in C&P being well aware it was far from being my perfect job and not in my perfect location (Rotorua) when we would have prefered to be in tauranga or whakatane nearer family (and the beach!). Anyways 10 months down the line I have been able to move twice: firstly into YJ and have now transferred to YJ in another office.

I used Nan and Kerry Lee (that was in 2008 though so going back a bit now). They didnt charge any fees at that time. I thought they were great - realistic and helpful. Only thing is the process took aaaages - be prepared for lots of paperwork! Being C&P you will be used to that!

I'm still not in my dream job but heh who is? but I am in the location I want to be in now. I came here fully expecting to have to work towards getting the work / life balance that we dreamed about. I knew it would take time to get the ideal job and I'm happy that I'v made alot of steps towards that in less than a year. I'm also now due first baby later this year so am determined not to let any job interfere with family life which will be priority soon. Being here, networking - getting to know people / agencies etc makes it much easier to get jobs. Word of mouth is very important in CYF from what I've found.

When I arrived here in NZ I had about 6 years SW experience - 3 unqual and 3 qual. Majority working with children and families with focus on young people - did a year as residential SW and also worked briefly with yp in refuge with Womens Aid. I was offered salary straight away that near enough matched my UK salary so I have no complaints in that area.

From what I can gather - an agency is the best way to go. Kerry is very pro active within the CYF arena and travels around the country meeting with the site managers to discuss potential applicants (I actually met her in Rotorua office a couple of months ago). If you want a job outside CYF not sure how useful kerry would be - I think her main contact is with CYF.

In terms of salary I have heard that hospitals are the best. You could also check out the Open Home Foundation who do C&P SW and pay around the same as CYF (i think). Again most of the NGO's pay crap wages unfortunately.

I also happen to know there is a new YJ residence opening in October in Rotorua which they are recruiting for now. There are alot of opportunities there from what I hear. Had I not moved from Rotorua I would definitely have applied there for case leader post. I really miss the direct work with c&yp - YJ seems to be all about the paperwork. Also Rotorua is a great place to live - loads to do etc.

Think I might be rambling now - If I can be of any help - please let me know.

cheers

Scousebird

It has been useful and given your comments and others I think using Kerry and Mandy is the way forward in regards to finding employment. I've been registered with them whilst they were free but now they are charging a fee which I will have to pay once the ball starts rolling. I've 11 years experience mainly in substance misuse and child protection and I'm in the middle of completing my specialist child care award which I'm hoping will help me get up the food change as once completed I've every uptodate qualification needed for the UK. One thing I really want to know is about pregnancy and maternity leave etc could you tell me your experience as me and my OH want another child which could be before/during or after the move depending on us and mother nature! I think I want to work in CP - how bad is it out there? Are there good policies and procedures and resources or is it bad? Thanks

stuartsummers1980

This is really insightful and helpful. Especially getting information on CYF, which to be honest is what my girlfriend has been avoiding at the advice of some ex colleagues of hers that are Kiwi’s who have just returned home, but unless you’re a very very positive person by nature, I don’t hear that much negative coming from your experiences in your post/s.

Without being so direct as to ask you exactly what you earn doing what you do, could I ask what the general margins of salary are in this area? You say it’s on a par with what you were getting, but I presume you weren’t plying your trade in London? I know that hospital Social Workers in Wellington get $60k but interested to know about CYF roles.

Just in regards to being able to move around CYF, what would the response be with an employer out there if you did up sticks after say 6 months and it wasn’t necessarily within CYF? (in fact it could be Australia). Most of the jobs that Kerry-Lee has coming up don’t tend to be in the big cities, and my job roles are white collar type roles, so we are concerned at my ability to get work in those smaller towns even if my girlfriend was in a role that was going well. I just wasn’t sure if you sign 1 year commitments etc?

dannigirl

Brilliant update hokeypokey!!! Very helpful to hear some feedback from someone who is working in NZ right now.

Stuartsummers1980 -if your girlfriend is on a London manager's wage then it is unlikely that she will match that in New Zealand unless she goes straight into management which is unlikely as she will be lacking NZ experience. I would say that the wage range for CYF is from $40,000 - $55,000ish...could be more?? Would definitely be more if you move into management and/or policy.

Where do you want to head to in NZ? You have to remember that NZ really only has two big cities, Auck and Wellington. Christchurch is biggish but still kind of feels like a bit town. Sounds like you may have to head to Auckland or Wellington to check things out for you both. I think the job market is misleading from afar. You will be surprised how easy your gf will pick up work once she is in NZ and gets known. If you are a good worker then word travels fast and you soon get in the loop of where all the good jobs are......just like London but on a much smaller level.

My husband and I are in a similar dilemma to you, it is going to be difficult to match both our salaries. I would prefer to return to my home city Dunedin, but realistically we might have to go to Wellington for both of us to find the right jobs.

Gaynor75 have a look at this link

http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz/parentall...available.html

Paid parental leave for 14 weeks $429 max per week...can take up to 52 weeks off though.

hokeypokey

Hey this is difficult trying to remember all the points to answer when I cant actually see them anymore! If I miss anything I'll add another post.

As far as maternity leave goes I have PR so makes all the difference in terms of entitlement to leave and to free health care etc. Altho that said, even with PR, if you have been in the job less than 6 months dont think you get paid maternity leave but you can apply for something called parental tax credit which i think is about $1200 one off payment for new bambino.

If you have been with employer for over 6 months (and have PR) you're entitled to 14 weeks paid leave. But dont get too excited - the pay is crap! It works out at less than $400 per week. You're also entitled to 10 days special leave (unpaid) to go to midwife appt's, hospital appt's etc.

If you are with your employer more than 12 months by the time your maternity leave starts you are entitled to take 52 weeks off (less your paid maternity leave). There is also something about being able to transfer some of your paid leave to your OH if you want to but not really sure how that works. Best websites to look at are department of labour and the working for families one. They explain all about the tax credits you may be entitled to as well as childcare subsidies and accomodation subsidies. All depends really on how long you have been here when baby arrives, what your residence status is, your OH's income, where you are living and how long you want to take off work.

I dont know anything about maternity pay in the uk (this is my first baby) but I have to say i was pretty horrified when i realised that I'll be getting less than my weekly wage and only for 14 weeks! I think in the UK you get 90% of your salary for the first 3 months or something like that?

Anywys I am planning to work up till few weeks before i'm due and then take 6 months off and come back part time. Thats the plan at the moment - will take it as it comes - will just need to get used to eating beans i spose!

As far as policies and procedures & resources over here - I dont know if I came across as positive in my previous posts - the situation is pretty much the same I think. Theres just as much child abuse here as in the UK, the job is just as stressful and theres a similar lack of resources. An added frustration I've found is that everything is so ****** far away - you need to travel hours to place a child in residence or to attend a training course. I didnt come here expecting the job to be much better - i've been realistic enough to realise that NZ isnt all sunshine and beaches but that there are dysfunctional families aplenty here as well as there are anywhere else. That said the sunshine and beaches definitely make it much more bearable!!

CP isnt really my thing - they dont have any sort of CP register here which I found quite hard to get my head around - so there is no quick way to determine the level of risk a child may be at other than trawling through historical referrals. They also split alot of the CP teams into engagement and assessment (who deal with all new referrals) and intervention (who deal with longer term cases mainly kids in care). E&A seems to be all flying by the seat of your pants stuff and Int seems to be all writing complex court reports. I much prefer YJ as its more structured and I like working with teenagers and its been really interesting to be part of the FGC process which makes the YP accountable and invovles the family and victim.

For me my SW qualification has been a means to an end - it was what got us the visa to get into NZ. I have no intention of working in statutory work for very much longer but again am realistic enough to realise that working for CYF will give me a much better understanding of the NZ system and will make it easier for me to get other jobs.

As far as the cultural aspects of working for CYF I was sort of thrown in from day one. The majority of my colleagues are maori and our office is heavily influenced by maori culture and practices. My caseload has mainly been maori families. I have done some training but have picked up alot from my colleagues and from the families who, generally speaking, i've found to be pleased to be able to share their culture with me and explain things I dont understand. Its all about how you approach people and being respectful of differences.

The cultural aspect of the job will vary widely dependant on where you work. For example Auckland has a much more multi cultural population than Rotorua (in my opinion) as there are tons of immigrants.

As far as wages go - cyf's go up in stages dependant on your skills and experience. I have heard that generally UK workers are regarded as good workers and are offered good salaries to attract them to the job. I was earning about £29k in the Uk and am now on $60k here which is the top of the scale for your basic SW'r. In order for my salary to go up I would need to become a senior practioner or a supervisor - I think then salary can go up to anywhere between $60k - $70 ish. Will check this and get back to you tho. I also know that I am earning a much better wage than many of my similarly experienced NZ colleagues which isnt fair atall but goes to show that CYF definitely value UK workers here.

I didnt have to sign anything to say I would stay in the job for a set time - but Kerry Lee explained that there is a general understanding that you need to stay in it for at least a year. The conditions of my visa meant I had to stay in it for at least 3 months and had to evidence this to immigration. Also I have heard from other UK workers here that as well as now charging a fee, Kerry Lee is now asking people to sign something to say that they will stay in the job for a minimum period. If you leave before then the agency will be entitled to claim back from you some sort of financial penalty. Not sure of the details of this - could just be gossip - not sure.

Again - if I can be of help - let me know - more than happy to offer share what my experience has been so far.

hokeypokey

oh yeah - just wanted to add - one thing that has really struck me as different here as opposed to the UK is the concept of family or whanau. Here the legislation is influenced by the treaty of waitangi all about protection, participation and some other p i cant remember right now (pregnancy brain!). Anyways - people here especially maori families have a much wider concept of family than most of us have back in the UK. The legislation here states that every effort should be made to place a child with a member of their whanau, hapu or iwi before looking for a non kin caregiver. So at FGC's you can have aunties and uncles twice removed and third from the left all wanting to take care of a child because they are somehow distantly related! Its up to the FGC co ordinator to ensure that all relevant people are invited to these meetings. Gone are the days of sitting in meetings overloaded with professionals with two or three family members sitting in the corner - here it tends to be the other way around - loads of family members and the professionals sitting in the corner! Families (not just parents) have much more say in what happens to their relatives which is as it should be me thinks. Alot of onus is put back onto the family to come up with a plan to change things for the better for the child - obviously doesnt always work well in every case but at least the opportunity is there. So I think families being involved in decision making is much more prominent here than I ever experienced in the UK especially with CP cases.

Oh and by the way - apologies for the profanity in my previous post - I thought puting an e instead of a u after the f made it less of a sweary word - obviously not - oops!

dannigirl

Excellent update hokeypokey!! Such good info.

BTW maternity pay here is (for me anyway) first 6 weeks 90% pay, weeks 6 - 20 50 % and then stat pay for remaining period up to 39 weeks. 39 - 52 weeks nothing...still think it is better than NZ. Basically as I understand it you get your 14 weeks from IRD/Govt and nothing from your employer ....14 weeks is not much!!!!

I think you are totally spot on with your comments about cultural stuff, it's more about how you approach the situation. Child abuse is child abuse, no matter what culture you are from, but you can also respect the past and historical influences without losing sight of the child.

Hope your pregnancy is going well, when are you due?

Scousebird

Wow - great info thanks Hokeypokey and dannigirl. Think maternity leave is defo better in the UK - one good aspect about the EU! I got paid for attending for midwife apts so that's another bonus! It maybe wise to have another child if poss before we leave! I'm intune with the maori culture after working in Christchurch I had to know about all the maori services in order to refer. Totally agree with the family aspect of things unlike the UK where sometimes I feel we don't care enough about our families - although that's just personal opinion and not in all cases. I know a little about FGC but some of your comments are interesting. I still need to learn more though as I felt I didn't have enough info. My travels have helped me understand cultural issues esp after working in Oz. I don't think the pay is too bad for top scale swr just hope it matches the lifestyle. I think I would only want to start as a swr until the policies and procedures and resources were clear to me. I'm sooo ready to move up at the moment but there are limited positions in my LA - coz it's a good one I think. I've got loads of experience in dv, sa - perpetrator and victim and substance misuse which I think are quite problematic in NZ so I hope I'm sellable!! Good luck with the baby - if you remember (due to pregnancy brain - it continues after) can you let me know your experiences of the care you receive. My advice - lots of gas and air!

hokeypokey

Glad info has been helpful - wish I had someone to ask questions before i got here!

Pregnancy is going well so far things will continue to go well. My main problem has been the emotional aspect of being pregnant for first time and so far away from friends and family. I really miss being able to share stuff with my friends and my sister and my mum back home like shopping for baby stuff. Have been struggling with homesickness quite a wee bit since finding out about the baby. We are going to stick to our original plan of giving it at least 2 years before making any great decisions about whether to stay or go home. So still got a year to go. Am also doing my sums at the moment to see if we will be able to afford a trip home around christmas time. New bambino will be about 8 weeks ish by then. Will need to wait and see if we get a well behaved wee bundle or one that cries all the time. Dont fancy 26 hours on a plane with a screaming infant and I'm sure none of the other passengers would either!! Might need to sell a kidney to pay for the flights but i'm sure we'll figure something out (credit card here we come!!!).

Scousebird

pregnancy is generally an emotional time anyway - I had the same problem in a different way as I lost my mum the year I got married (cremeted her on our original wedding day) and became pregnant all in the same year. We live a good distance away from family and friends to (not the other side of the world though)You do want your family around you for the first few weeks but it does get better and they keep you so busy so forget how you were feeling. Make sure you get out and about and amongst other Mums. Whatever your feeling in regards to being homesick believe you me once I returned home after being in NZ we knew it was a mistake and have been planning to return ever since. There is good and bad in every place pros and cons but our decision to return has been swayed by having children. There is going to be no room to move on island soon and little opportunities for our children due to limited resources. Just return for a holiday and see how you feel. Although NZ is isolated and still a developing country in terms of size I think there will be more opportunities to be gained for our children there. I could be wrong but I don't want to live life regretting. Good luck with it all - pregnancy sucks but once their here it's great - hard work but great.

dannigirl

Scousebird - have a look on Child, Youth and Family website 14 jobs in Southern region!!!!!

Scousebird

jesus - will do. thanks.