Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics For Social Workers Bye-Law 2011

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 143/2011
• Year: 2011

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 8th April, 2011.

The Social Workers Registration Board, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by section 31 of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 , with the approval of the Health and Social Care Professionals Council, hereby makes the following bye-law:

1. This bye-law may be cited as the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Social Workers bye-law 2011.

2. The Social Workers Registration Board hereby adopts the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Social Workers contained in the Schedule to this bye-law.

3. The Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Social Workers forms part of this bye-law.

4. This bye-law comes into operation on 29 March 2011 and both the bye-law and Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Social Workers remain effective until revised by further bye-law of the Social Workers Registration Board.

SCHEDULESocial Workers Registration Board

Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Social Workers

Contents

Foreword

Overview of the Code

Respect for inherent dignity and worth of persons

1 Upholding human rights in your practice

2 Respecting the rights and dignity of people

3 Respecting service users’ relationships

Pursuit of social justice

4 Promoting social justice

Integrity of professional practice

5 Complying with the laws and regulations governing your practice

6 Carrying out your duties professionally and ethically

7 Demonstrating ethical awareness

8 Demonstrating professional accountability

9 Acting in the best interest of service users

10 Communicating with service users, carers and professionals

11 Seeking informed consent

12 Keeping accurate records

13 Health and safety

14 Delegation and management

15 Teaching and assessing students

16 Undertaking research ethically

17 Truthful advertising

18 Maintaining high standards of personal conduct

19 Addressing health issues in regard to fitness to practise

20 Providing information about your conduct and competence

Confidentiality in professional practice

21 Treating information about service users as confidential

Competence in professional practice

22 Acting within the limits of professional knowledge, skills and experience

23 Keeping professional knowledge and skills up to date

Appendix A: Suggested procedure for ethical decision making

Appendix B: Suggested procedure for undertaking research ethically

Appendix C: References

Foreword

I am pleased to present the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Social Workers devised by the Social Workers Registration Board (SWRB) at CORU. The code specifies the standards of ethics, conduct and performance expected of registered social workers.

Many of the standards of ethics, conduct and performance expected of social workers are common to the 12 health and social care professions to be regulated by CORU. In the first instance, the Health and Social Care Professionals Council at CORU developed a framework code detailing these common standards. The SWRB has now built on that framework code by including additional requirements which are particular to social workers.

Social Work is a profession based on principles of human rights and social justice that work to empower individuals, groups and communities to develop their full potential and wellbeing. The focus of intervention in social work is the relationship between the individual and their immediate and wider social environment. Particular emphasis is placed on meeting the needs of vulnerable and arginalised individuals and groups. These key social work themes are reflected in this code.

The SWRB’s goal is to protect the public by fostering high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training and competence among registered social workers. Adopting this Code is a key part in this process and, as the profession develops, the SWRB is committed to reviewing these standards on an on-going basis to ensure that they remain both relevant and comprehensive.

It is important that all registered social workers read, understand and meet the standards set out in this code. Failure to do so could result in a complaint of professional misconduct being made about the registrant. Under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 , professional misconduct is defined as any act, omission or pattern of conduct of the registrant which is a breach of the code.

In this Code the SWRB has aimed to set out the standards of ethics, conduct and performance expected of registered social workers in a clear and accessible manner. We expect that all social workers will comply with these standards and that the consistent application of these standards will benefit service users. We look forward to working with social workers, their employers and service users in the new environment of statutory regulation.

Suzanne Quin

Chairperson.

March 2011.

OVERVIEW OF THE CODE

This Code specifies the standards of ethics, conduct and performance expected of registered social workers. You have a duty to always protect the health and well-being of people who use your services. To protect the public, you must comply with this Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.

The social work values informing this code are:

• Respect for the inherent dignity and worth of persons

• Pursuit of social justice

• Integrity of professional practice

• Confidentiality in professional practice

• Competence in professional practice

Note: The term “service user” is used throughout this document. It includes all those who access social work services, whether they are adults, children and patients in hospital or attending services voluntarily or involuntarily.

Your particular duties are listed below:

1. Uphold human rights in your practice;

2. Respect the rights and dignity of people;

3. Respect service users’ relationships;

4. Promote social justice;

5. Comply with the laws and regulations governing your practice;

6. Carry out your duties professionally and ethically;

7. Demonstrate ethical awareness;

8. Demonstrate professional accountability;

9. Act in the best interest of service users;

10. Communicate with service users, carers and professionals;

11. Seek informed consent;

12. Keep accurate records;

13. Deal appropriately with health and safety risks;

14. Delegate and manage appropriately;

15. Teach and assess students fairly;

16. Undertake research ethically;

17. Make sure your advertising is truthful and accurate, does not mislead and complies with legislation;

18. Maintain high standards of personal conduct;

19. Address health issues in regard to fitness to practise;

20. Provide information about your conduct and competence;

21. Treat information about service users as confidential;

22. Act within the limits of professional knowledge, skills and experience;

23. Keep professional knowledge and skills up to date.

STANDARDS OF ETHICS, CONDUCT AND PERFORMANCE EXPECTED OF REGISTERED SOCIAL WORKERS

Respect for the inherent dignity and worth of persons

1. Upholding human rights in your practice

You should uphold human rights in your practice, by:

• respecting the right to self-determination;

• promoting the right to participation;

• treating each person in a caring and respectful fashion.

2. Respecting the rights and dignity of people

You must show through your practice and conduct, a respect for the rights and dignity of people regardless of:

• gender;

• family status;

• marital status;

• age;

• disability;

• sexual orientation;

• religion;

• race;

• membership of the Traveller community,

as identified under the Equal Status Acts, 2000-2008.

3. Respecting service users’ relationships

In your practice, you should respect service users’ relationships with their families and other caring relationships. You should also show respect for colleagues and others working to help service users.

Pursuit of social justice

4. Promoting social justice

You should promote social justice in your practice, through:

• challenging negative discrimination and unjust policies and practices;

• recognising and respecting diversity;

• demonstrating cultural competence;

• advocating for the fair distribution of resources based on identified levels of risk/need;

• working towards social inclusion.

Integrity of professional practice

5. Complying with the laws and regulations governing your practice

You must be familiar with and work within the laws and regulations governing your practice and keep up with any changes in legislation or regulation.

6. Carrying out your duties professionally and ethically

a) To protect the public you must:

• carry out your duties and responsibilities in a professional and ethical way;

• always behave with integrity and honesty.

b) Your practice should benefit and not harm others. Often difficult decisions must be made that may be perceived as harmful by a service user. If there is a conflict of interests between the service user and the safeguarding of children or other vulnerable people, safeguarding should take precedence.

7. Demonstrating ethical awareness

a) You must make sure you read and understand this Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.

b) You must not enter into any agreement or contract or accept any gift that might cause you to act against the terms of this Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.

c) You must take particular care when ethical issues arise. Please see Appendix A for a suggested way of dealing with ethical dilemmas.

d) If there is a conflict between this Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics and a registrant’s work environment, the...