Living and working in the UK: rights and responsibilities

Know about the responsibilities of citizens in the UK.

Responsibilities

Basic responsibilities:

• to obey and respect the law
• to be aware of the rights of others and respect those rights
• to treat others with fairness
• to behave responsibly
• to help and protect your family
• to respect and preserve the environment
• to treat everyone equally, regardless of sex, race, religion, age, disability, class or sexual orientation
• to work to provide for yourself and your family
• to help others
• to vote in local and national government elections

Being a good neighbour: when you move into a new house or apartment, introduce yourself to the people who live near you. Respect their privacy, limit how much noise you make, keep your garden reasonably tidy, and only put your refuse bags and bins on the street or in communal areas if they are due to be collected.

Benefits of being a good neighbour: helps in becoming part of the community and making friends. Your neighbours can be a good source of help and advice about the local area.

Assessment Criteria

• 1.1

  Outline the basic responsibilities of all people living in the UK.

• 1.2

  State ways of behaving that make you a good neighbour.

Know how to contribute to own community and beyond.

Supporting own community

Local opportunities:

Schools – governors, parent-teacher associations, accompanying children on school trips, cake sales, supporting one-off events.

Charity shops, local groups such as for pre-school children or the elderly, helping out in a homelessness shelter or at an animal rescue centre, participating in a community clear-up.

Police – volunteer roles such as special constable.

Jury service: feature of UK justice system, whereby 12 ordinary people attend a trial in a court and make the decision as to whether the person accused of a crime is guilty or not. Jurors are not paid (although they can claim basic expenses) and if you are called to be a juror you have to take part, except in exceptional circumstances. If you are on the electoral roll and are aged between 18 and 70, you can be called.

Blood and organ donation: you can give a small amount of your blood to help people who are ill or injured. You can do this on a regular basis and it only takes about an hour to do. You can join an organ donation register so that, after you die, your organs can be transplanted to someone who is ill and needs a replacement organ such as a liver or a heart.

Assessment Criteria

• 2.1

  Outline different ways to volunteer in own community.

• 2.2

  State what is meant by ‘jury service’.

• 2.3

  State what is meant by ‘blood and organ donation’.

Know about looking after your environment.

The environment

Recycling – how it is managed in own area; benefits of recycling – less pollution, less landfill, less demand on limited resources.

Shopping locally – to reduce food miles.

Using public transport – to reduce carbon footprint.

Assessment Criteria

• 3.1

  Give examples of ways in which you can help protect the environment, stating how your actions are helping.

Know about paying taxes in the UK.

Paying your tax

Income tax – a proportion of the money which a person receives (mostly made up of wages/salary) which is paid to government to be spent on public services such as: education, hospitals, roads, the police.

Main ways to pay: if you are employed through PAYE - taken by employer and passed on to government; if self-employed, by completing a tax return and sending it to HMRC who then send you a tax bill which you must pay.

If eligible to pay income tax, you must by law pay the tax.

Assessment Criteria

• 4.1

  State what is meant by ‘income tax’.

• 4.2

  State the two main ways in which the government collects income tax.

• 4.3

  Give examples of the services which government funds through taxes.

Know about voting in the UK.

Voting

Different types of election: mayoral, local/council, national, referendum.

Voter eligibility: 18 years of age or over on polling day, British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen, resident at an address in the UK.

Ways to vote: filling in a ballot paper at a polling station; postal vote; vote by proxy.

You need to register to vote by completing in a form so that your name appears on the electoral register or roll.

Assessment Criteria

• 5.1

  State who is eligible to vote in UK elections.

• 5.2

  Identify different types of UK election that people can vote in.

• 5.3

  Outline the main ways to vote.

Know about driving in the UK.

Legal requirements:

Age 17 to drive a car or motorbike/16 to drive a moped on a public road.

You must hold a licence.To get a UK licence you have to pass a theory and a practical test.A licence from a European Union licence is valid.You can use a licence from another country for one year; after that you must get a UK licence.

You must pay road tax, be insured and have your vehicle tested annually if it is three years old or older.

Assessment Criteria

• 6.1

  Outline the main legal requirements for driving a car in the UK.