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As an employer with staff in your workplace, you are likely used to your workforce consisting of people who are employees and workers. However, some businesses have voluntary workers. You may have volunteers in your organisation or consider giving volunteers job roles in your business. If you have volunteers in your workplace, you need to know about any rules surrounding having volunteers in your business. If you do not carry out your duties towards volunteers correctly, you could face problems with government bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive. This article will explain what you, as an employer, need to know about volunteers in the workplace in England. It will explain what a volunteer in the workplace is and the rights they do and do not have.
What is a Volunteer?
A volunteer is a person who gives up their time to do something which they are not paid to do but will benefit others. A person who volunteers does so of their free will and cannot be made to give up their time. A volunteer can be of any age and come from various backgrounds.
Distinguishing Volunteers From Employees
As your volunteers in your workplace are not employees, there are differences in how you must treat them, and therefore you need to make it clear who is an employee and a volunteer. Volunteers do not have the protection of employment law.
When you have volunteers in your workplace, you should ensure the following:
- there is a difference between a paid staff member and a volunteer;
- the volunteers’ and employees’ roles differ; and
- the volunteer is choosing to volunteer.
It is essential to clarify that you are not engaging volunteers instead of paid staff in your business. You should also make sure that the effect of having volunteers does not eliminate your paid employees or undercut their pay. Also, where there are problems between your employees and your volunteers, you should have a policy that details how you resolve this.
Despite differences between your paid employees and your volunteers, your volunteer will still need to have a Criminal Records Bureau check if they are carrying out similar work to your paid employees who require this.
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An Employer’s Agreement With a Volunteer
As a volunteer in your workplace is not an employee and does not have employee rights, you will not have a contract of employment with them. Instead, you will have a volunteer agreement which is simply an agreement rather than a contract.
A volunteer agreement is not a legal requirement, but it is good practice to have this in place as it sets out:
- that you will treat your volunteer fairly and consistently;
- any support you offer your volunteers;
- who manages your volunteer;
- how they should deal with issues at work;
- support and supervision they will receive;
- the training your volunteer can access;
- any expenses you cover, including any out-of-pocket expenses;
- health and safety issues; and
- whether your public liability insurance includes them or not.
What Rights Do Volunteers Have?
As volunteers are not employees, they do not have the rights your employees have, such as:
- the National Minimum Wage;
- holiday pay;
- sick pay; or
- protection from unfair dismissal.
However, they do still have some rights when volunteering for your business. They have the right to carry out their work for you in a safe, secure and healthy environment. This includes the right not to be exposed to health and safety risks and to receive information about how their health and safety may be affected. Your volunteers also have the right to:
- not be discriminated against, harassed or bullied, although they do not have the discrimination protection employees have;
- not experience intimidation or violence at work;
- protection that the Data Protection Act (DPA) provides;
- contribute towards your policies and procedures; and
- the training and development needed to carry out their job role.
If your employees are part of an industrial dispute, you must not use your volunteers to carry out their roles.
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Key Takeaways
While volunteers in your workplace are not employees and do not have the same employment rights at work as they do, they do still have some rights. You must be aware of this and ensure that you honour these. For example, they have a right not to be intimidated or to be discriminated against, although the latter is not to the extent of protection as your employees. You should also be aware of how to treat your volunteers, such as that it is good practice to have a volunteer agreement with them which sets out essential responsibilities at work. You should also be aware that you should not use your volunteers to replace your paid employees.
If you need help understanding the key points you need to know about volunteers in the workplace in England, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
A volunteer in the workplace in England is a person who chooses to carry out a role in your business. However, you do not pay them for this.
You as an employer should know many key points about volunteers in the workplace in England. For example, the right to work in a healthy and safe environment.
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