The Big Picture
Support workers build close working relationships with people who depend on them for care and support. Because of that trust, support workers need clear standards for how they behave and make decisions.
Ethics means rules of conduct that help people decide what is right or wrong, and good or bad. Regulated health professionals have formal codes of ethics through their governing colleges. Support workers do not have one formal code of ethics that applies everywhere. Instead, each agency or facility has its own code describing the values and qualities expected from employees.
These codes may differ between employers, but they commonly focus on dignity, independence, personal preferences, privacy, safety, confidentiality, and advocacy.
Look for Nova Scotia CCA Notes throughout this page for current provincial guidance.
Quick tip: Tap, click, or press Enter on any term with a dotted underline and an ⓘ icon to see its plain-English definition.
Start Here If You’re Overwhelmed
Focus on these core ideas:
- Support workers do not have one formal code of ethics. Each agency or facility has its own.
- Work only within your scope and perform tasks you have received the necessary education to perform.
- Never assume a skill allowed by one employer is automatically allowed by another employer.
- Respect client dignity, choices, privacy, confidentiality, independence, and safety.
- Do not misuse the trust that comes with the support worker role.
- Report client concerns, mistakes, and unsafe situations to your supervisor as required.
Jump to:
Course Notes: Key Ideas You Need to Know
What Ethics Means
Ethics refers to rules of conduct that guide decisions about right and wrong, and good and bad.
Conduct means personal behaviour.
A code of ethics gives workers standards for how they should behave. For regulated professionals such as physicians and nurses, governing colleges provide these codes. The codes describe professional ideals and standards of conduct members must follow.
Support workers are different. They do not have one formal professional code of ethics. Their agency or facility provides its own code.
An employer’s code describes the values and personal qualities expected from workers. Values are qualities a person considers worthwhile or desirable.
Nova Scotia CCA Note
Sorrentino’s Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker, 5th Edition explains that support workers do not have one formal professional code of ethics and that agencies or facilities provide their own codes. In Nova Scotia, Certified CCAs also work under province-wide Continuing Care Assistant Occupational Standards of Practice. Ethical Practice is one of the CCA core competencies.
In Nova Scotia, Ethical Practice includes maintaining integrity and accountability, establishing boundaries, responding respectfully, protecting confidentiality, recognizing when to report and escalate, and following CCA standards, health care legislation, and employer policies. The occupational standards also help form the provincial CCA Certification Exam. (novascotiacca.ca)
Why this matters in Nova Scotia: Do not treat ethical conduct as only an employer-specific matter. Employer policies still matter, but province-wide CCA occupational standards also set expectations for ethical practice.
Last checked: August 31, 2026
Major Goals of Ethical Support Work
Although employer codes differ, common goals include protecting and promoting the client’s:
- dignity
- independence
- preferences
- privacy
- safety
- confidentiality
Support workers also act as advocates for clients when needed.
These ideas guide both the care a support worker provides and the way the worker behaves around clients.
Work Within Your Scope
Ethical conduct includes knowing the limits of your role.
Support workers provide high-quality personal care and support services within their scope of practice. They perform only tasks for which they have received the necessary education.
They also follow:
- employer policies
- applicable federal laws
- applicable provincial or territorial laws
Support workers promptly report concerns or observations about a client’s health and well-being to their supervisor.
Rules Differ Between Employers
A support worker needs to know the policies and procedures for each workplace.
The skills allowed in one agency are not automatically allowed in another. If you work for more than one client or agency, the required skills may differ.
When unsure: Ask your supervisor or a regulated health care professional for direction.
Do not assume that permission to perform a skill in one workplace gives you permission to perform it everywhere.
Compassionate Care and Well-Being
Support workers provide compassionate care to all clients.
Their support promotes different parts of a client’s well-being, including:
- physical
- emotional
- intellectual
- social
- spiritual
Support workers encourage clients to remain as independent as possible during normal health, illness, injury, disability, or while dying.
They also respect and promote family roles and relationships.
Dignity, Fairness, and Advocacy
Support workers value the dignity and worth of every client.
They advocate for clients when necessary. They aim to treat clients honestly and fairly.
Justice means fair and equal treatment.
Support workers do not discriminate against clients based on:
- age
- race or ethnicity
- colour
- religion
- sexual orientation
- culture
Ethical care requires respect for every client’s dignity and worth.
Client Choice and Autonomy
Clients have choices about how they receive or take part in their care. Support workers respect those choices and the client’s wishes.
Autonomy, also called self-determination, means having freedom and choice in decisions that affect your life.
Support workers also use discretion so they do not cause unnecessary distress or embarrassment to the client.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Support workers respect a client’s right to privacy and confidentiality.
Information learned while providing care is not shared with people outside the health care team.
This rule applies to information the worker learns through the care relationship.
Position of Trust and Professional Conduct
Clients place support workers in a position of trust. Ethical workers do not misuse that position.
Support workers do not:
- accept gifts or tips from clients
- buy property from clients
- sell products to clients
- impose their religious or other beliefs on clients
A belief is a conviction that something is true. Having personal beliefs does not give a support worker permission to pressure a client to accept them.
Professional behaviour applies to interactions with both clients and co-workers.
Reliability Is Part of Ethical Conduct
Ethical conduct includes being dependable at work.
Support workers:
- arrive on time
- complete their assignments
- treat clients patiently and courteously
- notify their supervisor when they will be late or unable to work
In community or home care settings, they inform the client when they will be late or unable to work.
Professional conduct should reflect ethical principles during everyday work, not only during difficult situations.
Safety and Reporting
Support workers promote and maintain client safety.
They consider safety during every task and activity.
Report: Mistakes and unsafe situations are reported immediately to the supervisor.
Support workers also promptly report concerns and observations about a client’s health and well-being.
Exam Clue Words
- Only: Perform only tasks for which you have received the necessary education.
- Never: Never assume that skills permitted by one agency automatically transfer to another.
- When unsure: Ask your supervisor or a regulated health care professional for direction.
- Immediately: Report mistakes and unsafe situations immediately to your supervisor.
- Do not: Do not accept gifts or tips, buy property from clients, sell products, or impose your beliefs on them.
Fast Review
These are the points worth having fresh in your mind before a quiz or exam.
- Ethics guides decisions about right and wrong conduct.
- Support workers do not have one formal code of ethics. Their agency or facility provides its own code.
- Employer codes commonly support dignity, independence, preferences, privacy, safety, confidentiality, and advocacy.
- Perform only tasks for which you have received the necessary education.
- Never assume a skill allowed at one workplace is automatically allowed at another.
- When you are unsure about a workplace skill, ask your supervisor or a regulated health care professional.
- Respect client choices, dignity, privacy, confidentiality, independence, and family relationships.
- Do not discriminate against clients.
- Do not misuse your position of trust by accepting gifts or tips, buying client property, selling products, or imposing personal beliefs.
- Reliability, punctuality, completing assignments, patience, and courtesy are parts of professional conduct.
- Report concerns and observations about client health and well-being promptly.
- Report mistakes and unsafe situations immediately to your supervisor.
Final Pep Talk
This topic has several rules that look similar, so focus on who sets the ethical expectations, where your role limits come from, and which actions are clearly prohibited. Once you separate those ideas, the details become much easier to review.