a code of practice - talktalk business of practice booklet.pdf4 a code of practice for advocates the...

A CODE OF PRACTICEFOR ADVOCATES

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BASED ON THE ADVOCACY CHARTER

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INTRODUCTION

THE ADVOCACY CHARTER

A CODE OF PRACTICE FOR ADVOCATES2

People are entitled to be in control of theirown lives but sometimes, whether throughfrailty, disability, financial circumstances orsocial attitudes, they may find themselves in aposition where their ability to exercise choiceor represent their own interests is limited. Inthese circumstances advocates can helpensure that an individual’s views and needsare heard, respected and acted upon.

The Advocacy Charter was published in July2002 and set out to define and promote keyadvocacy principles. The Charter providesadvocacy schemes and others with a vehiclefor both explaining what advocacy is andoutlining a common vision of what constituteseffective advocacy. We have used the tenAdvocacy Charter principles as the basis forthis Code of Practice.

The Code of Practice is a set of guidelines foradvocates aimed at providing clarity, supportand boundaries for their practice. The Codeoffers a clear description of what is and is notexpected of an advocate in their day to daywork with service users.

An effective Code of Practice can:

• Offer guidance to advocates in their role;• Inform service users of what they can

realistically expect from their advocate;• Educate service providers, commissioners

and others about the scope and limitationsof the advocate’s role;

• Help to develop a better understanding ofthe training, supervision and support needsof advocates;

• Raise awareness of the need for andbenefits of independent advocacy for vulnerable people.

WHAT IS THE CODE OF PRACTICE?

A CODE OF PRACTICE FOR ADVOCATES 3


THE ADVOCACY CHARTERDEFINING AND PROMOTING KEY ADVOCACY PRINCIPLES

The advocacy scheme will have clearly

stated aims and objectives and be

able to demonstrate how it meets the

principles contained in this Charter.

Advocacy schemes will ensure that

people they advocate for, service

providers and funding agencies have

information on the scope and

limitations of the schemes’ role.

CLARITY OF PURPOSE

INDEPENDENCE

PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST

The advocacy scheme will ensure

that the wishes and interests of the

people they advocate for direct

advocates’ work. Advocates should

be non-judgmental and respectful of

peoples' needs, views and

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

The advocacy scheme will have a

written equal opportunities policy

that recognises the need to be

pro-active in tackling all forms of

inequality, discrimination and

social exclusion. The scheme will

have in place systems for the fair

and equitable allocation of

advocates’ time.

The advocacy scheme will be

structurally independent from

statutory organisations and

preferably from all service provider

agencies. The advocacy scheme will

be as free from conflict of interest

as possible both in design and

operation, and actively seek to

reduce conflicting interests.

The advocacy scheme will support

self-advocacy and empowerment

through its work. People who use

the scheme should have a say in

the level of involvement and style

of advocacy support they want.

Schemes will ensure that people

who want to, can influence and be

involved in the running and

management of the scheme.

EMPOWERMENT

experiences. Advocates will

ensure that information

concerning the people

they advocate for is shared

with these individuals.

5A CODE OF PRACTICE FOR ADVOCATES

ACCOUNTABILITY

The advocacy scheme will have in

place systems for the effective

monitoring and evaluation of its

work. All those who use the

scheme will have a named

advocate and a means of

contacting them.

ACCESSIBILITY

Advocacy will be provided free of

charge to eligible people. The

advocacy scheme will aim to

ensure that its premises, policies,

procedures and publicity materials

promote access for the whole

community.

SUPPORTING ADVOCATES

The advocacy scheme will

ensure advocates are prepared,

trained and supported in their

role and provided with

opportunities to develop their

skills and experience.

CONFIDENTIALITY


written policy on confidentiality,

stating that information known

about a person using the scheme

is confidential to the scheme and

any circumstances under which

confidentiality might be breached.

COMPLAINTS


written policy describing how to

make complaints or give feedback

about the scheme or about indi-

vidual advocates. Where necessary,

the scheme will enable people who

use its services to access external

independent support to make or

pursue a complaint.

“Advocacy is taking action to help people say what they want, secure their

rights, represent their interests and obtain services they need. Advocates and

advocacy schemes work in partnership with the people they support and take

their side. Advocacy promotes social inclusion, equality and social justice.”

a Advocates should be clear about thenature and extent of their role. Theyshould understand the boundaries of their own advocacy role and non-advo-cacy roles such as mediation and advicegiving.

b Advocates should not act outside ofthese boundaries. Advocates should seekpermission to refer people on to otheragencies where appropriate.

c Advocates should be able to explain, instraightforward language, what advocacyis and isn’t; why some people needadvocacy; and the benefits advocacy canbring. They should be equipped to answerquestions and deal with enquiries aboutadvocacy.

d Advocates must not engage in any sexualor otherwise inappropriate relationshipswith service users.

e Advocates should be responsible forproviding service users with a clearexplanation of their role at the start ofany new relationship.

f Advocates should provide written informa-tion about their organisation plus a copyof the Code of Practice to otherprofessionals, carers and service users ifrequested.

CLARITY OF PURPOSE


7A CODE OF PRACTICE FOR ADVOCATES

INDEPENDENCEa Advocates should take all appropriate

steps to avoid conflicts of interestoccurring in their work with service users.Where a conflict of interest does arise, itshould be declared to the line managerand advice sought as to how to proceed.

b Advocates should be free to actaccording to the wishes and needs ofservice users. They should not bethreatened, compromised or harassedwhilst carrying out their duties withinagreed boundaries set out in the Code ofPractice. Where such harassment doesoccur, this should be reported to the linemanager at the earliest opportunity.

NB: Conflict of interest is defined as: “a situation inwhich someone in a position of trust…hascompeting professional and/or personal interests.Such competing interests can make it difficult tofulfil his or her duties fairly. Even if there is noevidence of improper actions, a conflict of interestcan create an appearance of impropriety that canundermine confidence in the ability of that personto act properly.”(Source: Wikipedia) In the context of advocacy services,conflict of interest includes but is not limited to: breachof confidentiality; abuse of trust; personal gain; dividedloyalty (eg providing personal care and advocacy to thesame person).


PUTTING PEOPLE FIRSTa Advocates should ensureadvocacy support isappropriate to the serviceusers’ needs and/orexpressed wishes.b Advocates should takeinstruction from serviceusers wherever possible.Advocates should basetheir actions on mutuallyagreed plans and preferredoutcomes, and work inpartnership with serviceusers to achieve this. The advocacy role mayinclude:

(i) INSTRUCTED ADVOCACY:

• Gathering and presentingup to date and accurateinformation to helpservice users makeinformed choices butNOT giving advice.

• Listening to service usersand discussing optionsbut NOT imposing viewsor opinions.

• Talking to and correspon-ding with family membersor other professionalswith the service user’spermission but NOTmaking decisions orchoices on behalf ofservice users.

• Representing theperson’s expressed viewsand wishes but NOTtaking action independ-ently of the service user.

• Agreeing a plan of actionand identifying initialoutcomes and timescaleswith service users butNOT being prescriptive orinflexible.


(ii) NON-INSTRUCTEDADVOCACY:

• Where a service usercannot give clear instruc-tion, taking time to get toknow them and buildinga picture of theirpreferences and lifestyleincluding their culturalbackground.

• Seeking appropriatealternative forms ofcommunication whichenable the service userto express views andchoices.

• Ensuring the person’sfundamental humanrights are respected andupheld at all times.

• Challenging serviceproviders and decisionmakers in order topromote a person-centred approach.

• Acting as a ‘witness’ orobserver in the settingsin which the service userspends time.


EMPOWERMENTa Advocates should ensure that service

users are aware of when and how theycan be contacted and any limitations tothis contact (eg not at weekends).

b Advocates should inform service users oftheir right to request a change ofadvocate (within the constraints of thescheme), or terminate contact with theadvocate, at any time. If a service user isunhappy with the advocate’s approach toa particular issue, the advocate shouldconsider adapting their approach asappropriate within the terms of the Codeof Practice.

c Advocates should be open andtransparent about their methods ofadvocating with service users. Advocatesshould recognise the existing skills ofservice users, and support people todevelop new skills and the confidence tospeak for themselves.

d Advocates should provide service userswith information about how they can givefeedback to the advocacy scheme aboutits work and how to get involved in thewider activities of the organisation if theywish.


a Advocates should be fully conversant withtheir organisation’s equal opportunitiespolicy and be able to explain it to othersin straightforward language. Advocatesshould adhere to this policy at all times.

b Advocates should be respectful of serviceusers’ religious, cultural and spiritualneeds and proactive in ensuring theseare met. Where a service user expressesa preference for advocates with particularskills, knowledge or attributes, this shouldbe referred to the line manager.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY


a Advocates should not make a charge toservice users for their services.

b Advocates should respond positively torequests from service users to meet inplaces and at times which are mutuallyconvenient. Where necessary, theadvocate should make arrangements foraccessible meeting places which areacceptable to the service user.

c Advocates should adhere to theirorganisation’s risk management andhealth and safety policies and report anybreaches of policy to their line managerat the earliest opportunity.

d Advocates should make every effort toensure that information they havegathered on behalf of the service user isaccessible and understandable to them.

ACCESSIBILITY


SUPPORTING ADVOCATESa Advocates should make full use of and

contribute to:• ongoing training and personal

development opportunities;• one to one supervision with the line

manager;• annual appraisal against agreed targets;• group support and networking

opportunities with other advocates;• opportunities for reflection and analysis

of their own practice; • specialist support such as counselling,

as required and available.b Advocates should ensure they have

access to, and know how to use, a widerange of information resources such asbooks, journals and the Internet whichare accurate and up to date.

c Advocates should be aware of theirorganisation’s whistleblowing policy andbe supported to make use of this whereappropriate.


ACCOUNTABILITY

a Advocates should operate within the lawat all times, and ensure they adhere totheir organisation’s Code of Practice.Advocates are accountable on differentlevels, including to their organisation andthe service user. In practice this meansthat:

(i) Advocates should keep accurate andup to date written records of action takenand progress made with their work.Service users should be kept informed ofand involved in all aspects of the advocacyprocess.(ii) Advocates should comply with theorganisation’s data collection policy andthe Data Protection Act and ensureservice user monitoring information isroutinely collected and fed back to theorganisation.(iii) Advocates should not hold money orpossessions belonging to a service user. Inthe exceptional circumstances where thereis no alternative but for the advocate todo so, proper records and receipts shouldbe kept and the line manager must benotified of any such transactions at theearliest opportunity.


(iv) Advocates should not accept giftsother than one-off, inexpensive items,which should be declared to the linemanager. Further gifts should be declined,and an explanation given to the serviceuser.(v) Advocates should not make promisesto service users, or make claims for them-selves which they cannot substantiate.(vi) Advocates should conduct themselvesin a professional and responsible mannerin all dealings with service users, carersand other service workers. Where disputesdo arise, these should be referred to theline manager at the earliest opportunity.

a Advocates should be fully conversant withtheir organisation’s confidentiality policyand be able to explain it in straightfor-ward language.

b Advocates should at all times observeand respect the right to confidentiality ofservice users within the policy of theorganisation.

In line with best practice, this will generallymean that:(i) Advocates should be honest with the

service user about the level of confiden-tiality they can realistically guarantee.This means explaining any conditionsunder which confidentiality may bebreached (eg harm to self or others,abuse) and the means by which thismay occur.

(ii) Advocates should be clear that theyreceive supervision and will be requiredto discuss their work with their linemanager on a regular basis.

CONFIDENTIALITY


A CODE OF PRACTICE FOR ADVOCATES

(iii) Notwithstanding the above exceptions,advocates should not share informationabout a service user with otherswithout that individual’s permission.Where permission cannot be obtained,information should only be shared topromote the person’s views, wishesand concerns.

(iv) Advocates should inform the serviceuser about all actions taken on theirbehalf.

(v) Advocates should avoid colluding withhearsay and speculation about a serviceuser.

c Advocates should ensure that all writteninformation kept on a service user issecurely stored and routinely updatedand checked for accuracy. Service usersshould have access to this information asrequested.

17


COMPLAINTSa Advocates should be fully conversant

with their organisation’s complaintsprocedure and be able to explain it in straightforward language.

b Advocates should ensure that serviceusers are made aware of their right tomake a complaint about the advocate oradvocacy service. This may involve givingservice users a copy of the scheme’scomplaints leaflet; explaining the variousstages of the complaints process tothem at the start and during the course of the relationship; and being open tocriticism and suggestions withoutbecoming defensive.

c Where the complaint is from anotherservice worker (eg social worker, carehome manager) or a relative of theservice user, the same high standards ofprofessional conduct should apply.

d All complaints received by the advocatein the course of their work, whetherverbal or written, should be passed on totheir line manager at the earliestopportunity.


REFERENCEMATERIALS

Many of the specific requirements or standards are based on work done previously by other organisations that have developed their own Codes of Practice.These are: Advocacy – a Code of Practice(UKAN, 1994); Advocacy NetworkNewcastle Code of Practice; BildStatement of Working Practice (April2003); Direct Payments Advisory Service(DIAS) Advocacy Code of Practice;Gateshead Advocacy Code of Practice(April 2003); ICAS Project Directors Codeof Practice (April 2005); IndependentSpecialist Advocacy in England and Wales:Recommendations for Good Practice by DiBarnes and Toby Brandon with Tricia Webb(June 2002); Wessex AdvocacyConsortium Code of Practice (April 1996);Your Say Code of Practice by Kirstie Mann(January 2002).

©Action for Advocacy May 2006Tel 020 7820 7868 [email protected] Charity Number 1103575

Action for Advocacy (A4A) acts as the centralpoint of information on advocacy for advocacyproviders, the wider voluntary and communitysectors, policy makers and members of thepublic looking for advocacy support. Weprovide a range of information, training andcapacity building services.

A4A is an Investor In PeopleProduced with the support of the Lloyds TSB Foundation

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