Writing about ourselves and our users

How to write about Social Security Scotland and the people who use our services.

• Active and passive voice
• Addressing the user
• Adviser
• Claim and claimant
• Collective nouns
• Death
• Dependant
• Email addresses
• Financial hardship
• Income
• Job titles
• Next of kin
• Personal Acting Body (PAB) and Corporate Acting Body (CAB)
• Please
• Social Security Scotland
• Stillbirth
• Team names
• Terminal illness
• We
• Words to use and avoid when talking about disability
• Writing about our users

Active and passive voice

Use active voice not passive voice. Active sentences are more direct and make it clear who’s responsible for what.

Read the Cambridge Dictionary entry for more guidance on active and passive voice.

Addressing the user

Our users include:

• Social Security Scotland colleagues, like client advisers and case managers
• clients
• client representatives

When addressing the user in content, use ‘you’.

For more information, see the GOV.UK style guide entry on ‘Addressing the user’.

Adviser

Follow the GOV.UK style guide entry for ‘adviser’.

Claim and claimant

Do not use claim or claimant.

For full guidance, follow our entries on:

• addressing the user
• writing about our users

Collective nouns

Collective nouns like family, government or team take a singular verb or pronoun when they’re thought of as a single unit.

When they’re thought of as a collection of individuals, use the plural forms.

Death

If the content is for helping someone complete a task, be direct wherever possible.

Clear and simple language can help people understand what they need to do quickly. This is generally more helpful than content added to make something sound more sympathetic. Use:

• death
• died

Do not use:

• loss
• passed away

However, research shows there are cases where users need content that shows empathy and care. An example is when designing content about stillbirth.

Death is a nuanced topic and experiences vary. You should test content related to death wherever possible and use the language your users use.

Dependant

A dependant is someone who relies on another person for support.

Note that ‘dependant’ is a noun and ‘dependent’ is an adjective.

Email addresses

Follow the GOV.UK style guide entry for ‘email addresses’.

Financial hardship

Research shows people do not fully understand the term financial hardship.

People assume it means you cannot pay:

• bills
• for accommodation
• for food

In some contexts, the meaning is more specific.

If you use it, explain what it means in the context you’re writing about.

Income

Only refer to income if it's relevant. If you need to describe someone's income, be specific. Instead of 'high' or 'low' use income brackets or qualifying benefits.

Do not use stigmatising language like ‘poor people’ or ‘poverty-stricken’.

Job titles

Use lower case for job titles:

• client adviser
• case manager
• client experience officer
• director
• minister

Use upper case if you’re referring to a role held by one person:

• First Minister
• Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice
• Director of Social Security

Be specific if you’re writing for a specific role. Do not use generic terms like ‘agency staff’. Read the 'Social Security Scotland' entry.

Next of kin

Do not use ‘next of kin’ when referring to someone engaging with Social Security Scotland following a client’s death. 
 
The term ‘next of kin’ has no fixed legal definition in Scotland and does not give any automatic legal rights or special responsibilities in relation to social security. 
  
Use ‘appropriate person’ or ‘appropriate person to act in death’ instead.

Personal Acting Body (PAB) and Corporate Acting Body (CAB)

Do not use these terms because they're too vague to explain who the representative is. Instead use:

• the specific type of representative
• ‘client representative’ if referring to any type

If you need to refer to ‘Personal Acting Body’ where it’s used on an SPM screen, then you can use that term.

Please

Avoid using but can be judged case by case.

Social Security Scotland

Use ‘we’ or ‘us’ when referring to Social Security Scotland, except in MyGov content.

For MyGov content use ‘Social Security Scotland’.

Social Security Scotland should be referred to as a singular entity: “Social Security Scotland is…” rather than “Social Security Scotland are…”

Never abbreviate to ‘SSS’ or refer to ‘agency’.

Stillbirth

All one word.

Do not overuse the terms ‘stillbirth’ or stillborn’, which can be triggering for parents.

Research shows that users need language that shows empathy and care in this situation. Test with users wherever possible and use the language they use.

Do not single out stillbirth from infant death, unless the context requires you to. People generally refer to the loss of their ‘child’, not their ‘stillborn child’. Singling out stillbirth puts more emphasis on it and could suggest that it’s treated differently to the death of a baby.

If you’re designing content with editable fields like forms or letters, make sure any name fields are optional, if relevant. This gives the opportunity to provide a name, or skip it if the child does not have a name or it’s not appropriate to provide it.

Sometimes we may have to use words that could be stressful or triggering to meet eligibility criteria or legal needs Unless words or phrases are legally necessary, use alternatives for any that could be triggering.

Find out more in the style guide entry on 'Death’.

Team names

Use lower case for team names and the word ‘team’. Do not use initials.

Also read the job titles entry.

Terminal illness

Only use the term ‘terminal illness’ when there is a clear user need. For example, when you’re helping a client to: 

• understand their eligibility for a benefit 

• apply for a benefit 

Do not use the term ‘terminal illness’ in letters to clients. 

Use ‘special rules’ if you need to refer to ‘special rules for terminal illness’ in a letter.  

Client not aware of diagnosis 

If a client does not know about their diagnosis, just talk about their benefit. Do not mention: 

• ‘special rules’  

• ‘terminal illness’ 

We

Use ‘we’ or ‘us’ when referring to Social Security Scotland, except in mygov.scot content.

For mygov.scot content, use ‘Social Security Scotland’. 'We’ on mygov.scot refers to the 'Scottish Government'.

Words to use and avoid when talking about disability

Follow the GOV.UK entry on ‘words to use and avoid when talking about disability’.

Writing about our users

Do not use claimant or customer.

Use:

• client
• applicant
• individual
• child (if under 16)
• young person

If someone gets a benefit on behalf of someone else, make it clear what terms you're using and who you mean by each. For example, a parent getting Child Disability Payment for their child.