Introduction
Social work originally arose as a means of helping people who have fallen into a difficult life situation, for example, those who have lost their jobs and housing, suffered physical or mental trauma, and faced other mishaps. As a profession, it originated at the turn of the 19th-20th century. At that time, the first social work schools appeared in the U.K., the U.S.A., France, Sweden, and other countries (Adams, 2017). Subsequently, a special impetus for the spread and development of this profession was the emergence in the 40-the 60s to 1960s of the concept of the “welfare state” (Beveridge, 2021).
The essence of this concept dictated that civilized states begin to build their social policy to ensure the rights of all citizens in the social sphere are provided by law and are controlled by state and local government bodies. The U.K. is a fascinating example of how social work is presented. Hence, this report aims to analyze this system’s mechanism in the U.K., identify key schools of ethical principles and their implementation in social work, and determine potential ethical conflicts.
Virtue Ethics and Volunteer Contributions
One of the key schools of ethical principles was proposed by Aristotle. The ethics of virtue can be characterized as an approach that attaches particular importance to virtues and moral character, as opposed to those that emphasize the importance of duties or consequences of actions (Wood, 2020). Rules should serve virtue – this is the proper order of things (Wood, 2020). The peculiarity of moral laws, principles, and statutes in the context of virtue ethics is that they are formed during the implementation of social practices and are not external to them.
This lens can be applied to the social work of the United Kingdom. For instance, volunteers may well be used as a successful example of ethical virtue. Volunteers can give a lot to the organization thanks to their qualifications, personal experience, skills, competencies, and interests. They show initiative, are willing to try new things, and express criticism, but they do not allow the organization to be at an impasse (Adams, 2017).
The value is represented by their life experience and connection with consumers of social services, as well as with the local community. These individuals enrich the organization because they have a lot of contacts, and they can attract donations, creating a reputation and encouraging others to join (Adams, 2017). Thanks to volunteers, organizations can provide their clients with better services. However, an ethical conflict can arise if a volunteer decides to help people who are not in need. It signifies that he can act out of virtuous motives without asking if it benefits the community.
Consequentialism and Social Insurance in the U.K.
Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Henry Sidgwick developed another crucial approach to studying ethical guidelines. It is a theory that people should choose actions based on the expected consequences of these actions (Wood, 2020). Consequentialism does not specify which values should be maximized, but we can select values corresponding to what is important to people (Wood, 2020). For most people, human life and minimizing human suffering are values – this kind of consequentialism is called utilitarianism. The school asserts that out of two actions, one should choose the one that will maximize well-being in the future, despite its possible consequences in the short term.
The theory may be applied to U.K. social work since it aims to increase the welfare of its citizens. For instance, society has significantly suffered from the consequences of World War I. After the surge of socio-economic problems, reformer William Beveridge created a social insurance scheme based on six principles (Beveridge, 2021). These included the general subsistence minimum rate, the general tariff rate of deposits, unification of administrative responsibility, adequacy of the number of benefits, universality, and classification. As a result, the scheme covered all citizens regardless of income level but implied classification by the amount of security.
The population was divided into four classes of working age and two classes above and below this age (Beveridge, 2021). Representatives of all categories had to be provided with medical care and compensation for funeral expenses, and each class received a specific type of pension or allowance. Social insurance was supposed to be combined with state social assistance and voluntary insurance to ensure state social security.
In general, Beveridge managed to create a coherent concept aimed at protecting the interests of each member of society. His report had a profound impact on the development of the social policy of Great Britain in the mid-1940s (Beveridge, 2021). 1945-1948, a new social insurance system was implemented (Beveridge, 2021). According to it, state benefits were paid for unemployment, sickness, disability, the birth and upbringing of a child, old-age pensions, widows, disabled people from childhood, and funeral allowances.
Hence, the reformer recognized the actions he could take to maximize the benefits for the population. Nonetheless, there could be an ethical concern regarding dividing the population, as he could not predict which group would benefit the most. His initiatives would have been doubtful if all groups had not received profit.
Deontology and Ethical Guidelines in Social Work
Sometimes people are guided in their actions by specific rules that postulate morality by definition, and this approach is called deontology. It studies the principles of behavior of personnel aimed at maximizing the effectiveness of interventions, eliminating adverse factors in any activity, and harmful consequences of defective work (Wood, 2020). Deontology may include such rules as “do not lie”, “do not kill”, and others, typically prohibiting some actions.
The deontology of social work is a set of norms, regulations, and prescriptions about a worker’s duty and responsibility. For instance, in the U.K., social support in a friendly atmosphere is important. This means providing practical and moral support in the process of trusting, frank relationships. The other principle of ethics is the choice and decision that remain with the client who has asked for advice (Adams, 2017).
An employee of such an institution only focuses a person’s attention on a specific range of issues related to the problem of interest to the client and helps to find the right solution. In addition, social work is always supported by local authorities that are responsible for holding transactions, issuing legal documents, and approving the status. This means that a social worker must report all information to such institutions. An ethical conflict will arise if a social worker contradicts the set norms. For instance, if one puts such charges on a client that are not stated in the official guidelines. Such an act would be against the accepted social work code since most services are free.
Conclusion
In sum, being a phenomenon of a civilized society, social work receives its consistent development in all directions. In the U.K., this phenomenon started developing actively after World War I, when there was a deep socio-economic crisis. Ethical principles and social work intervene, imposing specific guidelines on the work of English social services. The virtues of ethics, consequentialism, and deontology were viewed as major approaches applied to the social mechanism of the chosen country. Generally, the U.K.’s social system works towards maximizing good and sticking to morally acceptable obligations.
References
Adams, R. (2017). Empowerment, participation and social work (4th Ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing.
Beveridge, W. (2021). Social insurance and allied services. Creative Media Partners.
Wood, N. (2020). Virtue rediscovered. Lexington Books.