Relationship Between Human Rights Act 1998 And Social Workers

This essay will explore the relationship between Human Rights Act 1998 and social workers when working with service users and their families. According to The British Institute of Human Rights, human rights are defined as follows: “Human rights are a set of basic rights and freedoms that we all have because we are human. These rights apply to everyone; we are born with them, and although they can sometimes be limited or restricted, they cannot be taken away” (British Institute of Human Rights). In order to answer the question, I will refer to the previous definition of human rights and make consideration of the most relevant Articles to social work practice. Alongside the Human Rights Act 1998, I will include other considerations that inform
The Human Rights Act 1998 is significant piece of legislation that received royal assent on the 9th November 1998 as referred to by the Social Care of Institute of Excellence. At present, the Act means all public bodies such as courts, police, local governments, hospitals, publically funded schools and various others bodies have to carry out public functions that comply with the Convention Rights, which ultimately protects basic freedoms and rights of all individuals. The Human Rights Act 1998, as cited by Brammer (2009) “... incorporates the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (2015) explained that the purpose of the Act was to emphasise the fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals now have access to in the United Kingdom. This is contained within the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which is widely referred to as the European Convention on Human Rights. Brammer (2009) identified that the Human Rights Act 1998, is a key piece of legislation that has a real influence of the development of law in the United Kingdom. With reference to social work practice Brammer (2009) identifies “... the Act is at least an opportunity to promote best practice. At best it may also promote a real culture of rights, which is empowering for service users” (Brammer, 2009, p.114). Furthermore, when
This responsibility is combined with shared values and ethics within practice. For instance, “The ethics and values that underpin good practice in social care, such as autonomy, privacy and dignity, are at the core of human rights legislation” (Social Care Institute of Excellence). Therefore social workers do not only have legal responsibility but the human rights articles are imbedded in core values that must be maintained in the social work profession for best practice. Parrott (2010) would also argue that it is not just legislation such as the Human Rights Act 1998 that guides social workers but having a value base can guide the profession as well as protect service users in a similar sense to the Human Rights Act. Again, many social care organisations did not reflect these core values and principles. This resulted in another horrific death of a child, Baby Peter. Following on from social care values and principles connected to the Human Rights Act 1998, it is also important to recognise how the Professional Capabilities Framework incorporates and implements the human rights. For instance, within Domain 4: Rights, Justice and Economic Wellbeing: Advance human rights and promoting social justice and economic well-being declares that “Social workers recognise the fundamental