Codes of Practice

Codes of practice

The first ever UK-wide codes of practice for social care workers and employers were launched in September 2002. The codes provide a clear guide for all those who work in social care, setting out the standards of conduct workers and their employers should meet.

Social care workers on the Social Care Register must adhere to the codes of practice for social care workers. If social workers fail to meet the standards set out by the Codes of Practice action may be taken against them by the General Social Care Council and they may be removed from the register and no longer be able to practice as social workers. See the conduct pages for further details.

The GSCC also published code of practice for employers of social care workers. This is not currently enforceable, but sets out the responsibilities of employers in the regulation and development of social care workers. The code requires that employers adhere to the standards set out and support social care workers in meeting their out code of practice.

Currently, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Ofsted take the codes of practice into account when inspecting care providers against the National Minimum Standards.

The summary below sets out responsibilities of social care workers and their employers as described in the codes of practice.

Code for Social Care Workers	Code for Employers of Social Care Workers
1. Protect the rights and promote the interests of service users and carers.	To meet their responsibilities in relation to regulating the social care workforce, social care employers must:
2. Strive to establish and maintain the trust and confidence of service users and carers.	1. Make sure people are suitable to enter the workforce and understand their roles and responsibilities.
3. Promote the independence of service users while protecting them as far as possible from danger or harm.	2. Have written policies and procedures in place to enable social care workers to meet the GSCC's Code of Practice for social care workers.
4. Respect the rights of service users while seeking to ensure their behaviour does not harm themselves or other people.	3. Provide training and development opportunities to enable social care workers to strengthen and develop their skills and knowledge.
5. Uphold public trust and confidence in social care services.	4. Put into place and implement written policies and procedures to deal with dangerous, discriminatory or exploitative behaviour and practice.
6. Be accountable for their practice and take responsibility for maintaining and improving their knowledge and skills.	5. Promote the GSCC's codes of practice to social care workers, service users and carers and co-operate with the GSCC's proceedings.

To date, the GSCC has distributed over three million copies of the codes. They are available in 29 different languages as well as in large print, Braille, pictorial, Easy Read and other formats and on sign language DVD. Click here if you would like to download a copy of the Codes.