Why is this important?
A to Z index - S
S2P
- See: State second pension
Sacking
- See: Dismissal
Safety
- Electricity safety in the home
- Fireworks - buying and using
- Food safety
- Free annual safety check of gas appliances for vulnerable people
- Furniture fire safety
- Gas and electricity goes off - how to keep your home safe
- Gas and electricity safety when doing building work or landscaping
- Gas safety in the home
- Holiday destination may be dangerous - independent traveller
- Travel abroad - Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice
Sale and rent back schemes
- Sale and rent back schemes - government-backed schemes
- Sale and rent back schemes run by private firms
- Sale and rent back schemes - local authority, housing association and social landlord schemes
- See also: Mortgage rescue schemes
Sales
Sample letters
- See: Template letters
Sanctions
- Claimant commitment
- Employment and support allowance
- Jobseeker's allowance - sanctions for misconduct
- Universal Credit sanctions
SAP
- See: Adoption pay
Satellite television
Savings
- Affordability
- Alternatives to saving
- Calculator - tool to help you work out how much to save
- Choosing how much to save
- Credit union savings
- Earning more from your savings
- Emergencies
- Financial advice
- Financial protection if your circumstances change
- Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)
- Investing in the stock market
- Options - what is the best way to save?
- Reasons for saving
- Savings accounts
- Savings bonds
- Stocks and shares
- See also: Capital
Savings bonds
Scams
- Common scams
- Computers - how your computer can be used to access your personal details to steal your money and identity
- Energy saving device offered to you on your doorstep - scam
- Financial scams
- Holiday club scams
- How to spot a scam
- Miracle health cures
- Mobile phone and satellite television insurance scams
- Mobile phone and satellite television warranty scams
- Online scams - top tips for avoiding them
- Personal and financial information - protection from scammers
- Phishing - spam e-mails and fake websites
- Premium-rate prize draw scams
- Prepayment meter top-up offered to you on your doorstep - scam
- Reporting a scam
- Timeshare resale scams
- Timeshare scams
- Vulnerable people - stopping vulnerable people from being scammed
Scheme of assistance
School costs
- Armed Forces - financial help for members of the Armed Forces, veterans and dependants
- Financial help
- Free school meals
- Transport to school
- Uniform
School leavers
School meals
Schools
- Access to school records
- Admission policies
- Choice of school
- Disability discrimination
- Discrimination in schools
- Drugs
- Education information and advice
- Exams - appealing against results
- Frequently asked questions about schools
- Help with costs of school education
- HM Inspectorate of Education
- Knives and other blades brought by pupils into school premises
- Problems at school
- Religious education
- School meals
- School milk
- School transport
- Sex discrimination
- Starting and leaving dates
- Taking children on holiday in term time
- Truancy
- Types of school
- See also: School costs
- See also: School leavers
- See also: School meals
- See also: School uniform
School uniform
Scottish Homes secure tenants
- See: Tenants
Scottish Land Court
Scottish Legal Complaints Commissioner
Scottish Parliament
- Complaining about maladministration to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
- Complaining about the conduct of an MSP to the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner
- Electing Members of the Scottish Parliament
- Lobbying and petitioning the Scottish Parliament
- Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) - contact details
- Scottish Parliament - a guide
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
Scottish secure tenants
- See: Tenants
Scottish Welfare Fund
Scottish Women's Aid
Scottish Youth Parliament
Seat belts
Secondhand cars
- Buying a car at auction
- Buying a car from a dealer
- Buying a car from a private seller
- Buying a car over the internet
- Buying a secondhand car - video about your consumer rights
- Buying a secondhand car - what to watch out for
- Car does not match its description - your options
- Checking a car's history
- Checking a car's identity
- Checking a car's mileage is genuine
- Checking a car's MOT certificate
- Checking the car is not stolen or on hire purchase
- Checklist, test drive and questions to ask when viewing a car
- Choosing a secondhand car
- Dealer poses as a private seller
- Documents for the car you bought are missing
- False mileage
- Faulty car - the car you bought is faulty
- Getting an independent report on a car's condition
- Hire purchase - the car you bought is still on hire purchase
- Logbook loans - the car you bought is still on a logbook loan
- MOT - problems with the MOT of a car you bought
- Paid too much for a car - your options
- Payment options
- Stolen car - the car you bought is stolen
- Write off - the car you bought is an insurance write off
Secondhand goods
Security of tenure
Self-certification
Self-employment
- Checklist for self-employment
- EEA nationals in self-employment - the habitual residence test
- Employment status - employed or self-employed
- Financial help to start a business
- Income tax - self assessment
- National insurance contributions
- National insurance contributions - rates
- Starting your own business - HMRC guidance
- Using a rented home to run a business
Self-employment credit
Self-harm
Senior citizens
- See: Older people
Separation
- Child maintenance under the 2012 scheme
- Ending a civil partnership
- Ending a marriage
- Judicial separation - civil partnerships
- Judicial separation - marriage
Septic tanks
Sequestration
- See: Bankruptcy
SERPS
Service charges
Service personnel
- See: Armed Forces
Services
- Accepting work done badly
- Age discrimination
- Age discrimination - exceptions
- Businesses - consumer protection from unsatisfactory services
- Buying goods and services from an overseas seller in Europe - rights and options
- Buying goods and services from an overseas seller outside Europe - rights and options
- Call-out charges
- Cancelling a service - decision tree
- Cancelling a service if you've changed your mind
- Changing your mind about buying a service
- Complaint about poor quality work - letter to trader
- Computer repairs
- Computer service agreements
- Deadlines - telling a trader to stick to a deadline
- Direct discrimination
- Disability discrimination
- Disabled people - removing barriers to access services
- Discrimination - common situations where discrimination is not allowed
- Discrimination - complaining about or reporting a trader for discrimination
- Discrimination - overview
- Discrimination - taking action
- Discrimination - when a trader can limit their services to certain people
- Discrimination because of something connected to your disability
- Disputing the cost of a service
- Distance sales - cancelling an order for services - template letter to trader
- Distance sales - cooling-off period when you want a service to start straight away
- Distance sales - how long is the cooling-off period
- Estimates and quotations
- European organisations that help with consumer complaints
- Gender reassignment discrimination
- Harassment
- Holiday services - problems
- Independent report on goods
- Indirect discrimination
- Making time of the essence - service is taking too long
- Making time of the essence - template letter
- Pregnancy and childbirth discrimination
- Race discrimination
- Reasonable time - delays to a service
- Refusing to pay for a service
- Refusing to pay for extra work - template letter
- Religion or belief discrimination
- Restaurants - poor quality service
- Service costs more than expected
- Service done badly - getting the trader to put things right
- Service done badly - what you can do
- Service information - banned practices and unfair trading
- Service is taking too long - overview
- Service is taking too long - template letter
- Sex discrimination
- Sexual orientation discrimination
- Stopping a service if it is taking too long
- Trader cancels a service
- Unsatisfactory services - consumer protection for businesses
- Victimisation
- When has a service been done badly
- Your belongings are damaged, lost or stolen while having a service done
- See also: Consumers
Servicing
- Cars - cost of servicing
- Cars - quality of servicing
- Cars - time taken to carry out servicing
- Computer service agreements
- Extended warranties
- Retail Motor Industry code of practice
Settled people
Severe disablement allowance
- Converting to employment and support allowance
- Pathways to work
- Severe disablement allowance
- See also: Benefits
Sewerage
- Appealing against a refusal to connect you to the public sewerage system
- Charges for public sewerage
- Complaining about sewerage services
- Getting connected to the public sewerage system
- Septic tanks
- Sewer flooding - claiming from buildings insurance or from Scottish Water
- Smells from waste water treatment works
- Who is responsible for maintaining and repairing sewerage systems
- See also: Water
Sex
Sex discrimination
- Civil partners
- Discrimination at work
- Discrimination at work due to having fertility treatment
- Dismissal because of discrimination
- Duties of public authorities
- Equality and Human Rights Commission
- Frequently asked questions about sex discrimination
- Goods and services
- Insurance
- Pregnancy - unfair treatment at work
- Schools - discrimination and harassment
- Single-sex only services
- Taking action about sex discrimination
Sexual harassment
Sexuality
Sexual orientation discrimination
- Discrimination at work
- Discrimination because of sexual orientation
- Dismissal because of discrimination
- Frequently asked questions about sexual orientation discrimination
- Goods and services
- Harassment when buying goods and services
- Insurance
- Schools - discrimination on grounds of sexuality
Sexual violence
- See: Rape
Shared ownership
Shares
Sheltered housing
- Sheltered housing for older people
- Television licences - reduced fees for residential care or sheltered accommodation
Sheriff Court
Sheriff officers
- Complaining about sheriff officers
- Negotiate with creditor to stop sheriff officers taking action against you
- Powers of sheriff officers
Shops
Short assured tenants
- See: Tenants
Short Scottish assured tenants
- See: Tenants
Short-time working
- Benefits - effect on entitlement to benefits
- Guarantee payments
- Pensions - effect on pension contributions
- Redundancy - claiming redundancy after continued period of short-time working
- Short-time working - employer reduces hours of work
- Tax credits - effect on entitlement to tax credits
- Working for another employer while on short-time working from your usual job
Sickness benefits
- Benefits for sickness and disability
- Employment and support allowance
- Frequently asked questions
- See also: Benefits
- See also: Disability
- See also: Industrial injuries
Sickness insurance
- See: Illness insurance
Sick pay
- Contractual sick pay
- Long-term sick leave - entitlement to paid holiday
- Statutory sick pay
- Taxation of statutory sick pay
Sight tests
- See: Glasses
Silent telephone calls
Single parents
- See: Lone parents
Slamming
- Slamming - switching internet or broadband service provider without your consent
- Slamming - switching telephone or mobile phone service provider without your consent
- Slamming - switching television service provider without your consent
Smacking
Small Businesses
- See: Self-employment
Small Business Service
Small claims
- Procedure if you are claiming money or compensation for faulty goods or services
- Procedure if you are taken to court for money you owe
- Small claims procedures - general information
- Taking a trader to court because of faulty goods or services
SMP
- See: Maternity pay
Social fund
- Appeals
- Budgeting loans
- Cold weather payments
- Discrimination and the social fund
- Funeral expenses
- Maternity grants
Social housing
- See: Council tenants
Social security benefits
- See: Benefits
Social tariff
Social Work Department
- Children who are being looked after by the local authority
- Children who need local authority services
- Complaints about services for children in need
- Complaints about services for children who are being looked after
- Kinship care - children who are being cared for by relatives or family friends
Solar panels
Solicitors
- Buying a home
- Buying or selling a home - problems with solicitors
- Choosing a solicitor
- Complaints about solicitors
- Complaining to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission
- Discrimination - duty not to discriminate
- Duty solicitors
- Help with legal costs
- Legal aid, advice and assistance
- Scottish Legal Complaints Commission - complaining about solicitors
- Selling a home
- Speculative (no win, no fee) agreements
- Using a solicitor
- Wills
Solvents
Spare room subsidy
- See: Housing benefit
Special education
Spectacles
- See: Sight tests
Spiritual healing
Sports and games
SPP
- See: Paternity pay
SSP
- See: Sick pay
Stakeholder pensions
- Choosing an annuity
- Financial Ombudsman Service - complaints about pension providers
- Income withdrawal
- Stakeholder pensions
Stamp Duty Land Tax
State earnings related pensions scheme
State pension
State second pension
- Financial Ombudsman Service - complaints about pension providers
- Opting out of state second pension
- State second pension
Statutory adoption pay
- See: Adoption pay
Statutory maternity pay
- See: Maternity pay
Statutory paternity pay
- See: Paternity pay
Statutory sick pay
- See: Sick pay
Stock market
Stolen goods
- Checking a secondhand car isn't stolen
- Does the seller have the right to sell
- Goods left with a trader are stolen
- Mobile phone - reporting a missing or stolen phone
- Possessions stolen from a car
- Your belongings are stolen while having a service done
Stolen vehicles
- Buying a stolen motor vehicle
- Checking the vehicle isn't stolen
- Insurance claims and accidents involving stolen vehicles
Store cards
- Credit agreements
- Store cards
- See also: Charge cards
- See also: Credit cards
Streets
Stress
Strikes
- See: Industrial action
Students
- Courses available in Scotland at universities and colleges
- Disability discrimination in education
- Disabled Students Allowance
- EEA students and the habitual residence test
- Hardship Fund - financial help
- Housing benefit
- Organisations giving information and advice
- Overseas students - immigration problems
- Student grants
- Student Loan Company
- Student loans
- See also: Education
Sub-contractors
Sunday working
Supersessions
- Personal Independence Payment - grounds for supersession
- Personal Independence Payment - when a supersession decision takes effect
- Personal Independence Payment decisions - changing a decision by supersession
- Universal Credit - grounds for supersession
- Universal Credit - when a supersession decision takes effect
- Universal Credit decisions - changing a decision by supersession
Sure start
Surveillance
- E-mail and internet communications interception
- Employer's right to monitor phone calls
- Telephone tapping
Surveyors
- Complaints about surveyors
- Ombudsman Services: Property
- Ombudsman Services: Property - complaints about surveyors
- Problems with surveys
- Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
Surveys
Swine flu
- See: Flu