Introduction
The SSSC Codes of Practice (the Codes) set out:
- the standards of practice and behaviour expected of everyone who works in social services in Scotland
- the standards expected of employers of social service workers in Scotland.
The revised Codes of Practice came into effect on 1 May 2024.
You can download the Codes in different languages and formats, posters and order pocket sized Codes.
About the Codes
About the Codes
The Codes let individuals (people using social services) know what they can expect from the workers who support them. They also support employers and workers to think about how they can continually improve practice. The two sets of Codes mirror the responsibilities of both employers and workers in meeting the standards.
We first published the Codes in 2003, setting out the national standards of conduct and practice that apply to all social service workers and their employers. This 2024 revision of the Codes is the third edition and replaces all previous versions (2016 and 2003).
Code for Social Service Workers
The Code for Social Service Workers sets out clear standards that everyone working in social services is expected to meet. It is your responsibility to meet the standards and you should use the Code to reflect on your practice and identify how you can continually improve.
Code for Employers of Social Service Workers
The Code for Employers of Social Service Workers sets out employers’ responsibilities for making sure their workforce is trusted, skilled, confident and valued. As employers you must support workers to achieve the standards set out in the Code for Social Service Workers and should use both parts of the Codes as a tool for continuous improvement.
Why are the Codes important?
Why are the Codes important?
Public protection and regulating the workforce
The Codes, alongside the Health and Social Care Standards, are an important part of regulating and improving the quality of care or support individuals experience.
All social service employers and workers make a commitment to work in line with the Codes of Practice.
The SSSC regulates the workforce to make sure that the people of Scotland can count on social services being provided by a trusted, skilled, confident and valued workforce.
The Care Inspectorate regulates organisations that provide registered care services and employ workers. The Care Inspectorate also provides advice and promotes good practice to improve standards across social services.
When a registrant does not meet the standards set out in the Codes, the SSSC can take action through our fitness to practise process. The Care Inspectorate can provide advice to care service providers on following the Codes and, if necessary, take action against employers who don’t meet the expected standards.
Supporting good practice every day
The Codes are a tool for continuous improvement and improving practice. For example, you can use them:
- to support regular Codes discussions at team meetings
- during induction and for staff learning and development
- to reflect on current practice.
Code for Social Service Workers
1: I must protect and promote the rights and interests of individuals and carers.
As a worker I will
1.1 Work with kindness, compassion and respect and treat each
individual as unique.
1.2 Respect and promote the rights and, where appropriate, the views,
wishes and choices of individuals and carers.
1.3 Promote the rights of individuals to have control over their lives and
make informed choices about their care or support.
1.4 Work with individuals and carers to communicate using their
preferred method and language.
1.5 Respect and maintain the dignity and privacy of individuals.
1.6 Promote diversity and respect all identities, values and cultures.
2: I must build and maintain the trust and confidence of individuals and carers.
As a worker I will
2.1 Be truthful, open, honest and trustworthy.
2.2 Communicate in a respectful, open, accurate and
straightforward way.
2.3 Respect confidential information and clearly explain policies about
confidentiality to individuals and carers.
2.4 Be reliable and dependable.
2.5 Honour work commitments, agreements and arrangements and,
when it is not possible to do so, explain why to individuals, carers
and my employer.
2.6 Declare issues that might create conflicts of interest and make sure
they do not influence my judgement or practice.
2.7 Follow policies and procedures about exchanging gifts and money
with individuals and carers.
2.8 Form open, positive relationships and maintain professional
boundaries with individuals, colleagues or carers that respect their
dignity, wellbeing and safety.
3: I must promote the wellbeing and independence of individuals and carers while protecting them, as far as possible, from harm.
As a worker I will
3.1 Report allegations of harm, challenge and report any dangerous,
abusive or discriminatory behaviour using established systems within
appropriate timescales.
3.2 Follow practices, procedures and policies designed to keep me and
other people safe at work.
3.3 Tell my employer, or the relevant authority, about any resourcing
or operational matter that might get in the way of providing care
or support.
3.4 Tell my employer, or a relevant authority, when a colleague’s fitness
to practise may be impaired.
3.5 Be open and honest with my employer, individuals and carers when
practice has or may have caused harm or loss.
3.6 Cooperate with any investigations by my employer, the SSSC or a
relevant authority into my fitness to practise or the fitness to
practise of others. This may include attending hearings and providing
witness statements, documents or other information within
appropriate timescales.
3.7 Work with individuals and carers to give and receive feedback, raise
concerns and complaints, take these seriously and act upon them.
3.8 Recognise and use responsibly the power and authority I have when
working with individuals, carers and colleagues.
4: I must recognise that individuals have the right to take risks and will work with them to understand and manage those risks.
As a worker I will
4.1 Work with individuals to make informed choices about potential and
actual risks to themselves or others.
4.2 Follow risk assessment policies and procedures to assess whether
the behaviour of individuals presents a risk of harm to themselves
or others.
4.3 Take necessary steps to reduce the risks of individuals harming
themselves or others.
4.4 Make sure that individuals, relevant colleagues and agencies are
informed about the findings and implications of risk assessments.
5: I must be accountable for the quality of my work and take responsibility for maintaining and improving my knowledge and skills.
As a worker I will
5.1 Meet relevant standards of practice and work in a lawful, safe and
effective way.
5.2 Maintain clear, accurate and up-to-date records in line with policies
and procedures relating to my work.
5.3 Tell my employer or the relevant authority about any personal
circumstances or experiences that may affect my ability to do my job
competently and safely and tell the SSSC about anything that may
affect my fitness to practise.
5.4 Ask for support from my employer or the relevant authority if I do
not feel able to, or well enough prepared to, carry out any part of my
work or if I am unsure about how to proceed.
5.5 Prepare for and engage in supervision to reflect on my development,
learning needs, wellbeing and practice.
5.6 Maintain my continuous professional learning to improve my
knowledge and skills and contribute to the learning and development
of others.
5.7 Cooperate and work inclusively and openly with colleagues and
others and treat them with respect.
5.8 Work in a way that is informed by an understanding of the impact
that trauma may have on individuals, carers and colleagues.
5.9 Be responsible for the work that I delegate to others.
5.10 Respect the roles and expertise of colleagues from other professions,
who may follow different professional codes, and work in partnership
with them.
5.11 Recognise and respect the roles, expertise and experience of carers,
families and relevant others and work in partnership with them
as appropriate.
5.12 Invite and listen to feedback from individuals, carers and others and
use this to improve my practice.
6: I must uphold public trust and confidence.
As a worker I will not
6.1 Abuse, harm, neglect or exploit individuals, carers or colleagues.
6.2 Abuse the trust of individuals, carers or colleagues, or misuse the
information I hold about them and their personal circumstances.
6.3 Form unprofessional or harmful relationships with individuals
or carers.
6.4 Discriminate against individuals, carers or colleagues.
6.5 Condone any discrimination by individuals, carers or colleagues.
6.6 Put myself or other people at unnecessary risk.
6.7 Behave, while in or outside work, in a way that would bring my
suitability to work in social services into question.
Code for Employers of Social Service Workers
1: Make sure people you recruit are suitable to be social service workers and that they understand their roles and responsibilities.
As an employer I will
1.1 Use thorough and safe recruitment processes to make sure that
people with appropriate attitudes and values, and the potential to
gain the necessary knowledge and skills, enter the workforce.
1.2 Follow relevant safe recruitment guidance to check criminal records,
registers and gaps in employment as part of assessing whether a
person can carry out the duties of the job.
1.3 Request and provide accurate and appropriate information or
references relating to a person’s suitability to work in a
specified role.
1.4 Give workers clear information about their roles and responsibilities,
relevant legislation and the policies and procedures they must follow
in their work.
1.5 Provide clear information to workers about line management,
communication and support.
2: Maintain a culture and have systems in place to support social service workers to meet their Code of Practice.
As an employer I will
2.1 Lead, manage and supervise workers in a way that promotes kind
and compassionate practice.
2.2 Lead in a way which values diversity, inclusion and equality and
upholds individual rights.
2.3 Lead workers in a way that makes sure individuals and carers, where
appropriate, are involved in decisions about their care or support.
2.4 Lead workers to continuously improve their practice and professional
development, while ensuring their fitness to practise.
2.5 Promote an open culture where workers are supported to discuss
ethical practice and professional boundaries.
2.6 Have systems in place to seek and use feedback from individuals,
carers and others to shape and improve services and practice.
2.7 Have systems in place for workers to report resourcing or
operational difficulties that might have an impact on care or support
and work to address such problems with relevant authorities
where necessary.
2.8 Enable a culture which supports workers to whistleblow when they
feel that working practices are discriminatory, inappropriate or
unsafe for any reason and take appropriate action to respond
to concerns.
2.9 Support workers to meet the standards in their Code of Practice
and not require them to do anything that might prevent that
from happening.
2.10 Support workers employed from other professions to meet their own
professional codes.
2.11 Report workers whose fitness to practise may be impaired to the
relevant authority.
3: Provide learning and development opportunities to enable workers to strengthen and maintain their skills, knowledge and practice.
As an employer I will
3.1 Provide good quality accessible induction and learning and
development opportunities to support workers to carry out their role
safely and effectively.
3.2 Support and prepare workers for new and changing roles,
responsibilities and developments in practice including digital.
3.3 Contribute to education and learning, providing effective workplace
placements, assessments and practice learning opportunities.
3.4 Support workers who need to be registered with the SSSC to meet
and maintain their conditions for registration and the requirement for
continuous professional learning and development.
3.5 Make sure that all newly qualified social workers are provided with
the required level of professional learning and development during
the mandatory supported year to fully meet their continuous
professional learning requirements.
3.6 Respond appropriately to workers who need support because they do
not feel able, or well enough prepared, to carry out their work.
3.7 Provide effective and regular supervision that enables workers to
develop and improve practice through reflection and feedback.
4: Maintain a culture that supports safety and protection while respecting the rights of individuals to take risks.
As an employer I will
4.1 Have written policies and procedures in place to protect individuals,
carers, workers and others from harm.
4.2 Put into action and monitor written policies and procedures,
particularly about reporting allegations of exploitation,
discrimination, harm, neglect or abuse to the relevant authority
within appropriate timescales.
4.3 Make sure workers know and understand signs of exploitation,
discrimination, harm, neglect and abuse and the action they
must take.
4.4 Make sure that workers understand bullying, harassment or any
form of discrimination is not acceptable and take action to deal with
such behaviour.
4.5 Have procedures in place for a worker to report when a colleague’s
fitness to practise may be impaired.
4.6 Have procedures in place for a worker to report when practice has
caused or may have caused harm or loss.
4.7 Deal with reports and allegations from workers promptly, effectively
and openly.
4.8 Promote a culture that values everyone’s safety and where violence,
threats and abuse are not acceptable. Have policies and procedures
in place for reducing and managing such incidents.
4.9 Be aware of the range of impacts trauma may have on workers, and
support workers who experience these.
4.10 Be aware of the impact abusive behaviour may have on workers.
Support workers who experience such behaviour.
4.11 Have policies and procedures in place that promote the health,
safety, wellbeing and equality of workers and respect inclusion
and diversity.
4.12 Support workers whose fitness to practise may be impaired and
provide clear guidance about any restrictions on their work.
4.13 Report to the relevant authorities where practice has or may have
caused harm or loss.
4.14 Have risk assessment policies and procedures in place.
5: Publicise and promote the Code of Practice for Social Service Employers and the Code of Practice for Social Service Workers to individuals and carers and cooperate with SSSC proceedings.
As an employer I will
5.1 Follow the Code of Practice for Social Service Employers and tell
workers about my responsibility to comply with it.
5.2 Inform workers about the Code of Practice for Social Service Workers
and work with them to understand their responsibilities
to comply with it.
5.3 Promote the importance and connection between the Codes of
Practice and other relevant frameworks and standards.
5.4 Inform individuals and carers of the Codes of Practice for Social
Service Workers and Employers and provide details of how to raise
issues relating to the Codes.
5.5 Take account of the Code of Practice for Social Service Workers when
making any decision that relates to a worker’s fitness
to practise.
5.6 Follow guidance on making a referral to the SSSC about a worker
whose fitness to practise may be impaired. If appropriate, tell the
worker that you have made a referral.
5.7 Cooperate promptly with SSSC investigations and those of other
authorities, including providing documents, attending hearings and
responding to the findings and decisions.
5.8 Enable and support workers to cooperate with SSSC investigations
and those of other authorities.
5.9 Take appropriate action on any SSSC findings about a worker’s
fitness to practise, including supporting a worker to meet any
conditions on their registration.
5.10 Take appropriate action on the findings of other standard setting
bodies to improve the service provided to individuals and carers.
When considering fitness to practise allegations which took place before 1 May 2024 please refer to the 2016 Codes of Practice. In some cases, both sets of Codes might apply if some allegations took place before and some after, 1 May 2024.
Codes of Practice in different formats and other languages
Different formats
Other languages
SSSC Codes of Practice Arabic version
SSSC Codes of Practice Bangla version
SSSC Codes of Practice Bulgarian version
SSSC Codes of Practice Czech version
SSSC Codes of Practice French version
SSSC Codes of Practice Gaelic version
SSSC Codes of Practice Greek version
SSSC Codes of Practice Hungarian version
SSSC Codes of Practice Lithuanian version
SSSC Codes of Practice Nepali version
SSSC Codes of Practice Polish version
SSSC Codes of Practice Portuguese version
SSSC Codes of Practice Punjabi Gurumukhi (Indian) version
SSSC Codes of Practice Romanian version
SSSC Codes of Practice Romany version
SSSC Codes of Practice Russian version
SSSC Codes of Practice Shona version
SSSC Codes of Practice Sinhalese version
SSSC Codes of Practice Spanish version
SSSC Codes of Practice Swahili version
SSSC Codes of Practice Tamil version
SSSC Codes of Practice Traditional Chinese version
SSSC Codes of Practice Ukrainian version
SSSC Codes of Practice Urdu version
SSSC Codes of Practice Vietnamese version
If you would like the Codes in a different language please email [email protected] or phone 0345 60 30 891 and we can look into this.
Codes information materials
We’ve produced pocket sized Codes and A4 posters for you to use at your service.
We’re delighted so many people have requested pocket sized Codes cards. We’re putting a pause on new orders until we process those we’ve received, which we’re working through as quickly as we can.
You can download and print a poster
Your Codes of Practice have changed – poster 1
Your Codes of Practice have changed – poster 2
Videos
We have two short videos you can use with staff and with people using your service and their families and carers.
Use the videos during induction, training, team meetings and supervision. They can help you encourage Codes conversations across your team.
You can also share them with people using your service to help explain what the Codes mean in day-to-day practice.
Video 1 – What the Codes of Practice are and who they apply to
This video explains what’s expected of registered workers and their employers.
If you require a text transcript of this video, please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Video 2 – How the Codes are used in practice
This video shows the Codes being used in practice in a care at home and housing support service.
If you require a text transcript of this video, please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Presentation
We’ve produced a Codes presentation that you can use or adapt in staff meetings, during induction or training. It covers what the Codes are, why they’re important and a reflective exercise to support discussion about the Codes and using them in daily practice.
British Sign Language (BSL) Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers and Employers
If you require a text transcript of this video, please contact us to discuss your requirements.