Rights and status of customers
Social welfare customers have the right to receive social services of a good quality from social service providers and with equal treatment and no discrimination. Customers must be treated by respecting their beliefs and privacy and in a way that does not violate their dignity.
Social welfare service providers must take the customer’s wishes, opinions, benefit, individual needs, native language and cultural background into account.
The rights and responsibilities of social welfare customer are defined in the Act on the Status and Rights of Social Welfare Clients. The provisions of this act apply to both public and private social welfare sectors.
Rights and responsibilities
Customers have the right to good-quality social welfare services.
Customers have the right to be treated with dignity and respect without violating their privacy.
Customer’s wishes, opinions, benefit, individual needs, native language and cultural background must be taken into account in the provision of social welfare services.
The customers’ right of self-determination must be honoured.
Customers have the right to participate in and contribute to the planning and provision of their services. If a customer is over the age of 18 and unable to participate in and contribute to the planning and provision of their services, the customer’s wishes must be identified together with their legal representative, next of kin or someone else close to them. Opinions of customers under the age of 18 must be taken into consideration as appropriate for their age and development level.
Customers have the right to obtain information about their rights and responsibilities and what options are available to them and what impact different options have as well as any others relevant specifics.
Customers have the right to access data recorded about them and to request the rectification of any inaccurate data. Based on their status as an interested party, customers have the right to obtain information from a document that may be or may have been used in the processing of their case.
Customers have the right to obtain a written copy of the decision or agreement regarding the provision of social welfare services.
As a general rule, a client or service plan must be drawn up for every customer.
Customers have the right to appeal a decision in the manner described in the instructions for appealing a decision. These instructions are appended to the decision.
Customers have the right to file an objection concerning their treatment with a person in charge of a social welfare facility or an executive social welfare officer. Customers also have the right to file a complaint with their local Regional State Administrative Agency.
Filing a complaint with your local Regional State Administrative Agency
Local social welfare ombudsmen give customers information about their rights and, where necessary, help customers prepare a complaint.
Customers have the responsibility to provide information needed in the coordination and provision of social welfare services.
If you are dissatisfied with the social welfare or early childhood education and care service you have received or you need advice on your rights and obligations as a customer, you should primarily contact the social ombudsman of the wellbeing services county. The social ombudsman will help the customers of both public and private social welfare sectors. Customers’ family members and others close to them may also contact the social ombudsman.
The social ombudsman offers advice on legal protection. The ombudsman does not issue decisions or grant welfare benefits. They also cannot revoke or amend decisions made by an authority.
You can for example contact the social ombudsman if you need help filing an objection or complaint regarding the work or decisions of social welfare services. The contact details of the social ombudsman of your wellbeing services county are available from the wellbeing services county’s telephone exchange and website. The task of the social ombudsman is statutory, impartial and free of charge.
The statutory tasks of the social ombudsman are to:
- offer customers advice in matters related to the application of the Act on the Status and Rights of Social Welfare Clients and the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care
- offer customers advice and, if necessary, assist them or their legal representatives, family members or others close to them in submitting an objection, and to offer advice and, if necessary, assist customers in submitting an objection on early childhood education and care
- offer advice on how to initiate a complaint, a claim for rectification, an appeal, a claim for compensation or other matter related to the legal protection of a customer’s social welfare or early childhood education and care with a competent authority
- inform customers of their rights
- collect information on customer contacts and monitor the development of customers’ rights and status
- work in other ways to promote and exercise customers’ rights.
Frequently asked questions
If you are not satisfied with a social welfare service you have received, you can file an objection with the unit that provided the service. You also have the right to file a complaint with your local Regional State Administrative Agency.