ABSTRACT

Derived from traditional paternalistic British philanthropic roots, social work in the United Kingdom is a complex and disputed social construct shared across interest groups containing a narrative of a profession that seeks to address social and structural inequalities, based on self-evident human rights and empowerment. Statutory and non-statutory social work are traditionally a value-based helping and empowering profession that is linked to social problems and social adversity (Bamford, 2015; Cummins, 2018; Gray, Midgley & Webb, 2012; Schulman, 1999; Younghusband, 1981). It is an ethical activity regulated by professional standards and codes (BASW, 2012, 2014; Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), 2017), guided by regulatory ethics and standards, and influenced by professional associations and the wider international professional community and body of literature on social work ethics. Simultaneously accountable to service users, as agents of society and the state, social workers have a professional responsibility to act ethically (Johns, 2016).