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Principle 1: positive cultures protect, promote and support people’s rights

Last updated: 9 Jun 2025

Listen to Abyd talk about supporting, promoting and protecting people’s rights in a positive culture.

Protecting, promoting and supporting rights is at the heart of all social care work. It includes protecting people who are at risk of harm or abuse.

People who work in social care have a legal duty to protect people’s rights under:

What is a rights-based approach?

A rights-based approach means we:

  • protect human rights
  • value people’s lived experience, respecting their voice, choice and control
  • give people the personalised support they need to achieve what matters to them
  • value diversity, and think about how policies and practices will affect people with protected characteristics – especially when we need to make decisions, or talk to people about the support they need
  • make sure people have a say in decisions that affect them
  • remember what we have to do to meet our responsibilities set out in equalities legislation and the Social Services and Well-being Act (Wales) 2014
  • move from a position of non-discrimination (protecting) towards proactive anti-discrimination
  • look at ways to promote and enhance people’s rights and change how we do things to benefit all
  • address organisational practices, policies and rules to make sure they don’t lead to unequal outcomes and institutional discrimination
  • lead in a way that encourages collaboration, internally and externally, to make sure we’re all protecting people’s rights (sometimes called a ‘whole-systems approach’)
  • make sure people have fair work, which includes fair pay and are recruited fairly.

How does rights-based working lead to positive cultures?

By focusing on rights in all parts of our work, we can create positive cultures for the people we care for or support, and our staff. 

Rights-based working has a positive effect on the people we care for, or support. This is because everyone working in social care can:

  • recognise, protect, and promote people’s rights
  • offer people voice, choice and control in their care or support
  • recognise and understand people’s priorities
  • make changes to services, behaviours or policies so they uphold people’s rights
  • encourage people to make their own decisions and take positive risks • offer sustainable services by motivated and empowered social care workers. 

Rights-based working also leads to a positive culture for people working in social care because it helps them to:

  • have a say in the things that affect them at work
  • have fair work, which includes fair pay and working conditions
  • have their rights protected
  • get support when they need it
  • feel happier and well at work, so they’re more likely to stay much longer with their employer and feel motivated to give better care
  • be part of stronger teams that are built on trust, confidence and the right to be heard and feel safe and respected
  • focus on identifying and understanding other people’s rights.
    • This encourages better working relationships and supports people working in social care to balance their roles and responsibilities confidently.

Where to find out more

Here are links to information and resources to help you to work in a rights-based way to promote a positive culture.

Some of these links may not be available bilingually or in an accessible format. We’re not responsible for content produced by other organisations.

Young person's video – WeCare Wales 

This video shows how a support worker uses a relationship-based approach to support a young person to make sure their rights are met and recognised. Working in a positive, supportive and safe working environment means the support worker can deliver the best well-being outcomes for the young person. 

Resources – My home life
Resources and learning, including best practice and stories of success, about how to promote and protect the rights of older people in care homes. 

Balancing Rights and Responsibilities programme evaluation – SCIE
Explains how you can balance rights and responsibilities and work with other professionals to uphold individual rights and achieve what matters.  

Equally outstanding: equality and human rights - good practice examples – Care Quality Commission
Explains how focusing on equality and human rights helps you improve the quality of care. 

The right way: a children's rights approach – Children’s Commissioner for Wales 
This video explains what the Commissioner has done to introduce a children’s rights approach into decision-making, policy and practice.

Our commitment to promoting and upholding the rights of people who use social care and childcare services – Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW)
Explains CIW’s legal responsibility and approach to inspecting the running of social care and childcare services.  
 
Know your rights: an easy guide – Older People’s Commissioner for Wales
A guide for older people, and for anyone supporting an older person. 

Human rights, choice and control in care planning – Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE)
Explains the Mental Capacity Act framework for protecting human rights, choice and control. It also explains the responsibilities of commissioners and providers to uphold and protect people’s rights in workplace and care settings.