Legislation protecting people in care

Overview National Assistance Act 1948 Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 NHS and Community Care Act 1990 National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 Human Rights Act 1998 Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 Equality Act 2010 Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 Public Bodies (Joint working) (Scotland) Act 2014 Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 Further information about legislation

Equality Act 2010

Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to discriminate against someone because of certain ‘protected characteristics’ when you are for example:

• in the workplace
• being provided with a public service (like social care, health care, or education)
• being provided with a service or good by a business

These protected characteristics are:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• marriage and civil partnership
• pregnancy and maternity
• race
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

If you receive social care services and think you’ve been treated unfairly because of a protected characteristic, you may be able to challenge this.

You can find out more about discrimination from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Read about how to make a complaint about a social care service.

Find out more about the protected characteristics from Citizens Advice Scotland.