The Role Played by the Health Professions of South …

1 International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences January 2013, Vol. 2, No. 1. ISSN: 2226-3624. The Role Played by the Health Professions of South Africa (HPCSA) Ethical Code of Conduct and the Employment Equity Act (EEA) in Regulating Professional, Legal and Ethical Conduct of Psychologists in South Africa Hillary Tomu Department of Industrial Psychology, University of Fort Hare, King William's Town Road, , X1314, Alice, 5700, South Africa E-mail: Abstract Unethical form of behaviour by Psychologists has of recent increased due to ignorance and a weak regulation system. Many forms of unethical behaviour by Psychologists have been brought to the attention of Board of Psychology recently. The Health Professions Council of South Africa is tasked with the duty of ensuring that Psychologists adhere to the highest standard of ethical and professional best practices. An ethical code of conduct for Psychologists was introduced in order to guide Psychologists in their professional and scientific duties.

2 Furthermore, to ensure that the use of psychometric assessments is regulated by law, an Employment Equity Act was introduced. The main purpose of the Act is to ensure that psychometric tests used and interpreted by Psychologists, are applied fairly to all groups and are used in an unbiased manner resulting in valid and reliable outcomes. Therefore, the paper seeks to determine the role Played by the Health Professions of South Africa (HPCSA) Ethical Code of Conduct and the Employment Equity Act (EEA) in regulating professional, legal and ethical conduct for Psychologists in South Africa. Keywords: HPCSA Ethical Code of Conduct. Employment Equity Act. Professional, Legal and Ethical Conduct. Psychologists Introduction A psychologist shall develop, maintain and encourage high standards of professional competence to ensure that clients are protected from professional practises that fall short of international best practises. Furthermore, a psychologist shall be accountable for professional actions in all domains in his or her professional life ( Health Professions Act, 1974).

3 A. Psychologist is a trained professional whose professional actions are regulated and controlled by the Healthy Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) Ethics Code of Conduct and the Employment Equity Act (EEA). The HPCSA code of conduct and the EEA work together in regulating the ethical conduct of a psychologist. 59 International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences January 2013, Vol. 2, No. 1. ISSN: 2226-3624. The HPCSA Code of conduct complements the professional codes and laws regulating test use and employment conditions, and it assumes that tests being used are compliant with it. The primary South African legislation governing occupational assessment is the Employment Equity Act (EEA) (no. 55 of 1998), which has the dual objective of ensuring that only valid and reliable assessments are used and that assessments are used in a fair manner that is free from bias (Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology of South Africa (SIOPSA) 2006).

4 By adhering to the ethics code and the EEA, it ensures that psychologists conduct their professional and scientific duties in an ethical manner. Psychologists make use of psychometric tests/assessments measures that tap the psychological characteristics of individuals with the main purpose of making decisions about people. Therefore assessment measures are valuable tools that aid decision making. This calls for a Psychologist who has received enough training to use the Psychological tests in a proper and responsible manner. According to Foxcroft and Roodt (2009), the item content of some psychological assessment measures might tap into very personal information. This might cause psychological trauma to the individual being assessed if a professionally trained and caring professional in the form of a psychologist is not at hand to work through any traumatic reaction during the course of the assessment. The HPCSA ethics code therefore endorses that only appropriately trained professionals must control and use psychological tests.

5 According to the HPCSA ethics code of conduct (2006), a psychologist must maintain up to date competency in his or her areas of practise through continued professional development, consultation and other procedures in conformity with current standards. To achieve these outcomes it is assumed that the Psychologist has the necessary competence including knowledge and understanding of psychological tests and other assessment procedures that inform and underpin this (SIOPSA) 2006). Such knowledge will ensure that psychometric tests are conducted appropriately, professionally and ethically, with due regard to the needs, dignity, rights of individuals involved in testing, and the reasons for the assessment. The HPCSA ethics code and the EEA play a big role in psychometric assessment because it guides and directs an assessment practitioner's/Psychologist daily professional activities. The provisions of the EEA and the code should be internalised and become part of practice for Psychologists.

6 Organisations that use assessment/psychological tools should formulate policies that are guided by the EEA and the ethics code. Failure to abide by the EEA and the code is a violation of legal and ethical rules respectively. Since the EEA and the code have a big role in regulating the ethical conduct of Psychologists, it should therefore be applied in all assessment activities all the time. The code and the EEA not only guide and regulate psychologists conduct, but also directs all assessment practitioners, intern psychologist and other users of psychological tests under the supervision of psychologists to practise and conduct assessment in a fair and unbiased way. 60 International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences January 2013, Vol. 2, No. 1. ISSN: 2226-3624. Employment Equity Act (EEA). Since the apartheid era, the South African labour legislation has entered a new transition. The need for psychometric assessments that are valid, reliable, fair and unbiased towards any group saw the introduction of the Employment Equity Act.

7 According to Eckstein (1998), the Employment Equity Act highlights the importance of the validation of any instruments to be used for assessment and selection purposes. This idea is further supported by the HPCSA ethics code which states that, Psychologists who performs interventions or administers, score, interpret or use assessment methods shall be familiar with the reliability, validation and related standardisation or outcome studies and proper applications and uses of the methods they use and recognise limits to the certainty with which diagnoses, findings or predictions can be made about individuals, especially where linguistic, cultural and socio-economic variance exists. According to Roodt (1998), one of the purposes of the Act is to ensure that psychometric tests are used in an un-biased manner, resulting in fairness. According to the Employment Equity Act No 55 (1998), Psychometric testing and other similar assessments of an employee are prohibited unless the test or assessment being used.

8 Has been scientifically shown to be valid and reliable. Can be applied fairly to employees. Is not biased against an employee or group. Apparently it is compulsory for psychologists to use assessment tools/tests in line with the provisions of the EEA. It is important to remember that a measure is only valid for the particular purpose for which it was designed. When a measure is used in a different way, the validity must be determined for the context in which it is to be used (Foxcroft and Roodt, 2009). For instance the Differential Aptitude test (DAT L) was designed to measure the ability of Grade 12 learners. It suits very well with adults who passed grade 12 and who are within the normal range of intellectual functioning. However, if it is used to measure the ability level of pupils in grade 9, the results are invalid. When interpreting assessment results, it is important to establish the construct validity of the measure for a particular purpose, otherwise the results may be invalid (Foxcroft and Roodt, 2009).

9 The Employment Equity Act (EEA) further provides a platform for promoting equal opportunities in the workplace by eliminating unfair discrimination. Psychologists form part of the workforce and they use psychological tests in recruitment and selection, organisational development, training and development. The EEA calls for Psychologist not to discriminate against an employee in any form of employment practise. According to the EEA, no person may unfairly discriminate, directly or indirectly, against an employee, in any employment policy or practice, on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, HIV. status, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language and birth. However, the EEA. accepts discrimination in certain circumstances. It is permissible to discriminate with the main 61 International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences January 2013, Vol.

10 2, No. 1. ISSN: 2226-3624. purpose of promoting affirmative action amongst previously disadvantaged employees such as blacks, women coloureds and to a lesser extend Indians. In addition it is not illegal to distinguish, exclude and prefer any person on the basis of an inherent requirement of a job. Depending on the type and nature of the job, some organisations require candidates to go through the process of medical and HIV testing. However, Medical and HIV testing of an employee is prohibited by the EEA. Medical testing can only be carried out if the testing is permitted by the legislation. Furthermore, testing can be done when it is justifiable in the light of medical facts, employment conditions, social policy and the fair distribution of employee benefits or the inherent requirements of the job. The EEA further prohibits HIV testing of any employee. The testing of any employee to determine HIV status is prohibited unless such testing is determined justifiable by the Labour court.