The codes of conduct help guide service providers on their roles, rights and responsibilities it also helps understand service users on what to expect from the service providers through the support they get and the way they are treated from the health and social care staff. Most of them have a charter or code of practice which they have to follow and go according to it. This is done by the General Social Care Council who help social workers by teaching them the rules of conduct and training which they then need to apply to their profession in a particular care setting. The code also tells them what the service users need to expect from the providers and if they are treated unfairly they have the right to complain. In addition, working in a health and social care environment the service providers need to be aware of the codes of practice and charters and ensure they are given training about them. The codes apply to the:
• General Social Care Council in the UK
• Care Council for Wales
• Northern Ireland Social Care Council.
Human Rights Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
The UK Government introduced The Human Rights Act 1998 with two main aims:
-To bring the human rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights under the jurisdiction of UK courts. This makes it possible for people to raise or claim their human rights within complaints and legal systems in the UK. The Human Rights Act 1998 therefore makes human rights more accessible – it is generally quicker, cheaper and more practical to bring your case before the UK courts.
-To bring about a new culture of respect for human rights in the UK. Human rights are not just about the law and taking cases to court. They are relevant to many of the decisions people make and the situations people experience on a daily basis. The Government intended the Human Rights Act 1998 to place human rights at the heart of the way public services are delivered.
The Human Rights Act 1998 has a real application in our everyday lives in the UK. It has been used to protect older people who are being abused in care homes, to ensure that disabled children are provided with transport to get to school, and to protect women from domestic violence.
The rights contained in the Human Rights Act 1998:
Right to life
Prohibition of torture
Prohibition of slavery and forced labour
Right to liberty and security
Right to a fair trial
No punishment without law
Right to respect for private and family life
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
Freedom of expression
Freedom of assembly and association
Right to marry
Prohibition of discrimination
Protection of property
Right to education
Right to free elections
Abolition of the death penalty (Equalityhumanrights.com, 2016)
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) recognises the rights of all children. It was ratified by the United Nations in September 1989 and came into force in the UK in 1992.1 The UNCRC gives children and young people (under the age of 18) specific rights, through 54 articles. These include the right to: a family life; be protected from violence; have a say and be respected; be healthy; and have an education. It also gives extra rights to children and young people living in difficult circumstances such as young people in trouble with the law, young refugees and asylum seekers.
September 2008 saw the completion of the UK’s most recent five-year reporting period on the implementation of the UNCRC, culminating with a hearing at the United Nations in Geneva. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child then issued to the UK Government its conclusions and recommendations.
The main aims of the UNCRC are:
To promote respect for the views of children
Support forums for children’s participation in matters affecting their lives
Protect children against discrimination, including by addressing intolerance and negative perceptions of children and young people. (Anon, 2016)
How legislation supports respect for cultural diversity in care settings
The Equality Act 2010 supports respect for cultural diversity in different ways. The characteristics that are protected by the Equality Act 2010 are:
Age
Disability
Gender reassignment
Marriage or civil partnership (in employment only)
Pregnancy and maternity
Race
Religion or belief
Sex
Sexual orientation
The Act also protects you if people in your life, like family members or friends, have one of the above protected characteristics and you're treated unfairly because of that. This is called discrimination by association. For example, if someone is discriminated against in a school because their parents are Hindus.
If you complain about discrimination the Equality Act protects you if you're treated badly because you've complained about discrimination or stood up for discrimination rights, either for yourself or for someone else.
This means that is someone was getting discriminated against for anything to do with their culture; they would be legally protected by the Equality Act 2010. This promotes respect for cultural diversity as it gives a consequence to those who do not respect it or act against it.
Conventions, legislation and regulations
Legislation
Legislations are legal requirements that support an individual’s rights. There are many legislations that aim to protect people from discrimination, for example the Children Act, Equality Act, Sex Discrimination Act, Race Relations Amendment Act, Disability Discrimination Act etc.
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and the Special Educational Needs& Disability (NI) Order are both laws which both aim to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people by banning disability discrimination and give disabled people enforceable legal rights.
The Disability Discrimination Act is the main disability discrimination law, banning disability discrimination by employers and care workers against disabled job seekers, employees, service users etc. It imposes a duty on employers and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to help them overcome barriers to help them gain and remain in employment, and access the goods and services they need.
The legislation requires public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for people with disabilities and also allows the government to set minimum standards so that people with disabilities can use public transport easily.
The main activities covered by the disability discrimination act are:
-employment, including access to employment
-access to and use of goods, facilities and services, including access to public buildings, shops and leisure facilities and to healthcare, housing and transport
-certain other functions carried out by public bodies, such as policing and issuing licences
-membership of private clubs and use of their facilities (Nidirect.gov.uk, 2016)
The Sex Discrimination Act comes under the more general Equality Act. It aims to promote equality for both men and women and bans discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status.
The Sexual Discrimination Act of 1975 was introduced to protect individuals from discrimination on the grounds of sex. The Sexual Discrimination Act was also amended after the introduction of the Gender Recognition Act in 2004 to protect transgender individuals.
The act bans discrimination by employers and care workers against employees, service users etc. based on their sex/gender or marital status. It imposes a duty on employers and service providers to treat them as an individual and not act upon prejudice towards either sex/gender to help them gain and remain in employment, and access the goods and services they have rights to access.
It is mainly focused on
-employment
-training
-education
-harassment
-the provision of goods and services
-the disposal of premises (Wikipedia, 2016)
In 2008 some parts of the act were amended to apply to transsexual people too. In 2010, the Equality Act was made, which covered previous anti-discrimination laws such as the Sex Discrimination Act, making it easier to understand and strengthening protection in some areas.
Sexual Discrimination can take many forms. It is essential to understand that sexual discrimination is judged to be unwanted attention by the victim of the behaviour, not the perpetrator. There are many ways in which sexual discrimination can occur.
Examples of sexual discrimination: A company employs or promotes a male worker with fewer qualifications or less experience over a female worker, a man or woman is demoted upon their return from paternity or maternity le, a man or woman is omitted from social or corporate events due to the group consisting of mostly females or males, a woman who is not offered employment due to the nature of the work i.e. physical or ‘dirty’ work etc. (Inbrief.co.uk, 2016)
Both the Disability Discrimination Act and the Sex Discrimination Act link together to ensure both aspects of discrimination (disability discrimination and sex discrimination) are covered. The Equality Act and the Disability Discrimination Act both legally protect people from discrimination in the workplace and in society. The Disability Discrimination Act protects disabled service users from being discriminated because of their disability.
For example in a school, a child may be prevented from going onto the playground due to there being stairs leading up to it, which the child cannot climb due to his wheelchair. The Disability Discrimination Act would mean that the school must install a ramp or other way of access for physically disabled people to access the playground.
Or, in the same setting, a girl might not be allowed to play football at lunchtime because she is female. The Sex Discrimination Act would prevent the teachers from discriminating against the girl just because she is female, and she would have to be allowed to join in with the football game.