Prepare for Work in the Community Sector

LEGISLATION IN THE COMMUNITY SERVICE INDUSTRY

PREPARE FOR WORK IN THE COMMUNITY SECTOR

Recap Week 9 & 10 10/9/2013 & 17/9/2013

TYPES OF LAW

• Community service workers practices are determined and regulated by law • This means you have to comply with a

minimum set of legal requirements, which vary according to the target group.• Legislation is a set of guidelines, passed

be an ACT of Parliament, which clearly defines what is legal and illegal.• For example the Workplace Health and

Safety Act

• In contrast common law is what is known as judge made law as the decision rests with community attitudes and expectations .• For example in the Community Service

Industry the most obvious example of common law is the Duty of Care requirement.

STATUTORY AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

• If a legal obligation is statutory, it means there is an Act that says you have to do something or not do something. This means you can be legally punished if the Act is not followed.• For example it a statutory obligation in

NSW for community service workers to report situations where they believe a child is at risk of significant harm

• Regulatory requirements refer to standards or rules on how a service should be run in order to meet the needs of the clients effectively and safely.• The statutory and regulatory requirements

contained in Acts and regulations shape community service organisations’ policies and procedures- they guide your decisions about what is ‘right’ in regard to your clients

• To look up any state legislation, go to the NSW Government legislation website where you can search or browse alphabetical lists of Acts: www.legislation.nsw.gov.au

•Duty of Care: refers to the obligation to take responsible care to avoid injury to a person whom, it can be reasonably foreseen, might be injured by an act or omission

•Standard of Care refers to what is expected of any other reasonable person/worker who performs the same duties this is about doing your work as well as any other worker. • A breach of duty of care exists when it is

proven that the person who is negligent has not provided the appropriate standard of care

NEGLIGENCE

• A failure of duty of care towards a client may lead to a charge of negligence. Negligent conduct is conduct which is in the opinion of the court falls below an acceptable standard

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY• Confidentiality means keeping private what

someone tells you• Confidentiality also extends to things like

names and addresses of clients , phone numbers and addresses of staff and volunteers• it is essential that all information and

documents that are confidential are kept secure in a place that cannot be accessed by unauthorised people• For example in lockable draws and filing

cabinets

EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE OF CONFIDENTIALITY

• These include • Making records available to the police if

they have a warrant to inspect documents• Making information available in the case of

suspected or confirmed child abuse• Responding to a summons or subpoena

CLIENTS RIGHTS TO CONFIDENTIALITY

•Remember that all clients, whether they have a drug and alcohol issue, a mental illness or a physical or intellectual disability have rights, and their confidentiality must be respected

STANDARDS AND CODES OF PRACTICE

• An acceptance of the code of ethics by workers ensures that the safety, wellbeing and rights of clients are being actively and continually considered within the workplace the code is voluntary but most services require workers to adhere to a professional code for the benefit of both the client and the service.

LINKING LEGISLATION TO ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF WORKERS.

• There is a variety of legislation to uphold when working in the Community Services Industry. Being aware of legislation is only the first step. Employers must also develop policies and procedures to ensure work practices reflect the legislation

LEGISLATION IN THE COMMUNITY SERVICE INDUSTRY

PREPARE FOR WORK IN THE COMMUNITY SECTOR

Week 11 and 12 8 and 15th/10/2013

4. WORK TEAMS IN THE CSIPrepare for work in the community sector

Learner guide Version 2 Pp 44 - 46

WORK TEAMS IN THE CSI

• Workers in the CSI spend considerable time working in groups or teams either with services users, colleagues, community members or some combinations of these

DEFINING TEAM WORK

• A team can consist of 2 of more people• A work team is a group of people who work

together for a common goal or purpose• Group membership can be stable or constantly

changing• People usually have a variety of roles in the

team

DEFINING TEAM WORK

People often work in teams for a variety of reasons• To achieve a common goal• To share ideas• To find out what colleagues think• To solve problems• To make recommendations• To make decisions• To develop a plan or program

TYPES OF WORK TEAMS

• There are teams who work with specific groups or on specific tasks such as (eg)child protection.

Management teams are another form of teams and are mostly community based organisations. Committee members are drawn from the community and they work together to manage an organisation such as a neighbourhood centre or a preschool.

IMPORTANCE OF TEAM WORK

• Working as a team there will be less duplication of information and increased effectiveness of service provision• Teams promote improved communication and

improve relationships between workers leading to improved decision making and problem solving

• Individuals may lack power and influence whereas a team has considerable more impact when decisions are being made.

• In an effective team, the members work together and achieve more than if they had been working independently. • Team work is based on open

communication, sharing of ideas and perceptions and the generation of a much wider selection of options

EFFECTIVE TEAM WORK

Effective teamwork results in a • Pooling of information; • Cross fertilising of ideas;• Increased productivity;• More creative problem solving;• A decrease in stress levels due to a shared

responsibility for outcomes;• Whilst some teams are competitive – others

are not and this can affect anxiety levels.

EFFECTIVE TEAM WORK

• Work teams are exposed to each others ideas, values and behaviours in a much more direct way than in other work arrangements• This may result in increased understanding

and acceptance of differences amongst the team members.• With not just one person responsible for an

outcome – there can be an increased willingness to take risks and trial innovative procedures that might otherwise be overlooked.

EFFECTIVE TEAM WORK

• Students are to divide into 2 groups• Each group is to reflect on the information that

has been presented in class in the past 11 weeks from the units Prepare for Work and Work with Others how it has re-enforced to them to realise how important effective team work is/will be in their professional lives.• Using either poster/video/photos the groups

can use a multi-media approach that is inventive and visual.• You will be asked at the end of this session to

display and discuss the end result.

TEAM WORK ACTIVITY – WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT?

• You may choose to have headings/sections such as - • WHAT IS TEAMWORK?• WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE TEAM?• WHY DO WE SEEK ASSISTANCE?• USING QUESTIONS TO CLARIFY• IDENTIFYING WORK VS PERSONAL

PRIORITIES• TIME MANGAGEMENT• DRESSING APPROPRAITELY

TEAM WORK – WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT?

TEAM WORK