Who should I make a complaint to?
Complaints about social service workers are usually most appropriately dealt with at a local level by the employer of the registered worker or by a university in the case of a social work student.
Employers of social service workers are responsible for governance of the practice of their staff and this includes managing the performance of their workers, supporting and monitoring their workers' professional judgement and investigating and resolving complaints about the work of their staff.
Employers can decide that decisions about practice matters should be changed in appropriate circumstances or that more work is required in order that the needs and views of a user of the social services they provide are more fully understood and addressed.
Making a complaint about a social service worker
The SSSC can investigate the conduct of registered social service workers. When an allegation of misconduct comes to our attention, we will consider whether there is a question about a social service worker's suitability to remain on the Register.
The role of the SSSC in dealing with complaints
The SSSC can consider:
Action we can take against a registered social service worker
If a social service worker is found guilty of misconduct the SSSC can take the following action:
Complaint form
Complaint guidance
How can I make a complaint against a social care service?
You can make a complaint about a registered care service by contacting the Care Inspectorate.
The SSSC has published Protecting the Public, a conduct report about the SSSC's work in relation to initial and continued suitability for registration:
Conduct report 2009/2010
(282.67 kB)
The Registration Rules explain how social service workers are placed on the Register. The Conduct Rules set down how we will investigate and hold hearings about allegations of misconduct against registrants.
Please click to view the Registration Rules and Conduct Rules.
This guidance aims to assist Conduct Sub-committees in deciding which sanction to impose on a finding of misconduct and assists Preliminary Proceedings Sub-committees when considering if an Interim Order should be imposed. The Guidance will apply to any case referred to a Conduct hearing or Preliminary Proceedings Sub-committee hearing from 27 March 2012.
For any case referred to a Conduct hearing or Preliminary Proceedings Sub-committee hearing before 27 March 2012, the previous Indicative Sanctions Guidance will apply.
