1. 1 Legal and organizational requirements on equality, diversity, discrimination, rights , confidentiality and sharing of information in relation to managing and developing yourself and your workforce

Legislation forms a framework which all care homes must adhere to; this is carried out in many guises and includes many parliamentary acts such as human rights act 1998 and the mental health act 1993, these acts are designed to protect and promote rights and responsibilities of people within a care setting. There are also provisions under other acts to protect and ensure rights to specific group’s equal pay, sex discrimination, race relations and disability discrimination.
Government guidance states that all public authorities have an
All people working in health & social care are expected to work within the boundaries of confidentiality. There are laws in place that have changed over the years however the major piece of legislation which cover confidential information is the data protection act 1998 This recently replaced two other acts and sets rules for processing personal information and applies to paper and computer, there are 8 principles which apply to data.
Touchstones have a policy on confidentiality, data protection and access to notes. This right to confidentiality is a key principle in modern health and social care, and should be respected at all times by care home staff.
All Individual records and home records are kept safe and secure, in various locked filing cabinets in a locked office of which only staffs have the access code; Staff has access to the cabinet for residents information as knowing individuals illnesses and history is vital to care. Other relevant files relating to staff, financial, and business are locked away separately the manager and the proprietor have keys for these cabinets. We also have some information on the computer which is password protected. All record are kept for the relevant time required and dependent on the law, they are boxed and filed away or destroyed securely.
It can sometimes be difficult to determine what is personal or general information, Staff should know when information given them in