This topic should provide you with the ability to recognise how to work ethically in the community services industry, both respecting and protecting the rights of clients. You will learn to:
protect the rights of clients when delivering services, regardless of personal values, beliefs and attitudes;
utilise appropriate problem-solving techniques when facing competing value systems, and discuss potential ethical issues with appropriate personnel; and
recognise and report unethical conduct to appropriate personnel.
Section 3.7 Unethical conduct
Unethical conduct is when you can see that another person is not adhering to professional ethics and is behaving in a way that puts clients at risk.
Examples of unethical conduct could include situations when:
A fellow worker is overheard gossiping about a client at the local pub;
A fellow worker is openly intolerant of other cultures and says negative things about people belonging to different cultures; and
Two workers argue with each other in front of clients.
A code of ethics helps us to identify unethical situations and is therefore important to think about regularly. It should never be a dead piece of paper stuck at the back of the filing cabinet.
It is important to work to build an atmosphere of trust, respect and candour in the workplace by:
encouraging openness and tolerance between colleagues;
accepting their right to hold different points of view;
When you recognise another worker’s unethical act, your first option is to confront the worker yourself and discuss the issue. If that is not successful you may need to report the unethical conduct to someone in higher authority. You will certainly need to report the conduct if the rights of others, as outlined in the code of ethics, are not being respected.
When reporting unethical conduct, you need to be clear about:
who was involved;
when the incident(s) occurred and who else was present;
the grounds on which you believe the conduct to be unethical; and
what other actions you have taken, eg. spoken to the person.
When considering reporting unethical conduct, you need to access your agency’s policy and procedures to know who to direct the report to.
Activity 3.6
Respond to the following incidents by completing the information you would put in a report.
1. A service director instructs you to go and borrow equipment from another service down the road, as your service is being inspected today and it is short of essential equipment.
Your co-worker takes a box of foodstuff every Friday afternoon on late shift, saying that ‘it will only rot over the weekend’. You notice that the ‘rotting’ food includes tins and jars of food.
2a. Who was involved?
2b. When did the incident(s) occur and who else was present?
2c. On what grounds do you believe the conduct to be unethical?
2d. What other actions have you taken, eg. spoken to the person?
