LAW

Law

Law

Many of you will find law one of the most demanding and challenging aspects of your training as social workers. Some of you may not have encountered it before and those who have will almost certainly not have been required to study it in the detail necessary to qualify as social workers. Law can be a daunting subject because it cannot be fudged. It requires a comprehensive grasp of foundational concepts, an extensive knowledge of legislation and precision in its application.

Moreover, practitioners can use knowledge of the law in ways which further oppress and disempowered service-users, or exercise it in a manner which informs service-users of their entitlements, protects their rights and enhances their quality of life. Social workers as employees should be aware of the legal obligations owed to them by employers in terms of ensuring their health and safety. The GSCC Code of Practice for Employers of Social Care Workers imposes additional responsibilities upon organisations which employ social workers.

The obligations of employers and the rights of social care professionals as employees are considered in this chapter. Without knowing their own rights as workers, practitioners will be unable to ensure that they operate in a safe environment. Social workers have a legal duty of care towards service users and carers. This means that practitioners and their employers can be required to pay damages by those who avail of their services and suffer loss or distress as a result. If users or carers receive incorrect advice from professionals, or experience adverse consequences because of social work intervention, they may be entitled to sue in negligence. At the same time the law prevents social workers being sued when carrying out certain statutory functions, such as safeguarding children. Obviously practitioners need to know the circumstances under which they and their employers may be liable in negligence and when they are not. Social workers not only assist users or carers to avail of services, but commonly are involved in helping them to assert their rights. In order to do this, social workers themselves have to be aware of the raft of legislation which protects people from discrimination on the grounds of their gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion or ethnicity. These domestic laws are complemented by the European Convention on Human Rights. This gives everyone in the United Kingdom basic protections against unjustified interference in their lives by the State. Parents, children, service users and carers are sometimes on the receiving end of interventions that they do not want by health and social care professionals.

A resort to human rights law can often be an important means whereby individuals and families can protect their privacy and autonomy. Social workers need to be aware of the rights granted under the European Convention in order both to avoid violating them and to help individuals whose rights have been contravened to obtain justice. Social workers are not lawyers and are not required to give legal advice to those they work ...