Equalities and human rights

Last updated: 19 April 2026
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This section provides clear, practical summaries of the key laws relevant to social care, including. 

 Equality Act 2010 

What it means: 

  • Everyone must be treated fairly and with respect. 

  • Discrimination is illegal, including against people with protected characteristics (e.g. age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy/maternity, marriage/civil partnership, gender reassignment). 

 In practice: 

  • Services must treat people equally and prevent discrimination. 

  • Reasonable adjustments must be made for disabled people. 

Scottish specific equality duties 

Public bodies in Scotland must: 

  • Produce equality reports and outcomes 

  • Assess equality impacts 

  • Publish employee information, pay gap data and equal pay statements 

  • Ensure information is accessible 

  • Consider equality in procurement 

These duties support the Public Sector Equality Duty   

The Human Rights Act 1998 

What it means: 

  • Everyone has basic rights, including dignity, safety, privacy and family life. 

In practice: 

  • Care must protect people’s choices, dignity and safety. 

  • Inspections check if people feel respected and listened to. 

Key rights relevant to social care include: 

  • Article 3 (freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment)  

  • Article 5 (the right to liberty and security)   

  • Article 8 (the right to family and private life) under the Human Rights Act.   

  • Article 12 (equal recognition before the law)   

  • Article 19 (the right to independent living) means protecting the rights of disabled people to live and participate in the community and giving them the same choices as non-disabled people.  

  • The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) sets out a number of principles (such as dignity, autonomy and participation) for social care frameworks, as well as the design and delivery of services.  

  • The public sector equality duty (giving consideration to preventing discrimination, promoting equality and encouraging good relations between people with different protected characteristics) and the reasonable adjustments provisions (meeting the needs of disabled people) under the Equality Act.   

Human Rights Bill (Scotland - Consultation ) 

Aims: 

  • Strengthen human rights protections in Scotland 

  • Bring more international rights into domestic law 

  • Increase accountability for organisations 

In practice: 

  • Services may need to show clearly how they protect rights. 

  • People will have stronger protections. 

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 

In practice: 

  • Children must be listened to, respected and kept safe. 

  • Their rights must guide all decisions. 

The Promise 

Aims: 

  • Scotland must do better for children, young people and families. 

  • Care should be loving, supportive and respectful. 

  • Decisions must be made with children and families, not for them. 

What this means in practice 

  • Services must build strong, trusting relationships. 

  • Children’s voices must be central. 

  • Support should be flexible, compassionate and rights‑based. 

  • Inspectors look for practice that reflects the values of The Promise 

Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 

Aims 

  • A duty of user focus  

  • Put people at the centre of planning, designing and reviewing their work 

  • making sure peoples voices shape better and more responsive services 

Self-directed Support (Scotland) Act 2013 

In practice: 

  • People have choice and control over their support. 

  • Services must involve people in decisions and support independence. 

Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 

In practice: 

  • Protects adults at risk of harm. 

  • Staff must recognise and report concerns quickly. 

  • Services must work together to keep people safe. 

Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 

In practice: 

  • Health and social care services must work together. 

  • People should receive joined up, consistent support. 

Other Important Legislation 

Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 

  • Strengthens rights for unpaid carers. 

  • Ensures personalised support and involvement in planning. 

Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 

  • Safeguards people who lack capacity. 

  • Actions must be least‑restrictive and in the person’s best interests. 

Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 

  • Strengthens children’s rights and improves outcomes. 

  • Introduces corporate parenting duties and extended care support. 

Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 

  • Protects the rights of people with mental illness, learning disabilities or personality disorders. 

  • Includes rights to advocacy, advance statements and safeguards through tribunals.