More about managing volunteers

To return to the rest of this list, visit Volunteering I!

Here, we continue the guide, first shared with us by the Council for Voluntary Service (CVS), and which applies to any voluntary organisation - not just to CPRE.

Health and safety

Organisations have health and safety obligations towards their volunteers - as well as to their employees, service users and the general public

Duty of care

The duty of care is a general legal duty on all individuals and organisations to take reasonable care to avoid causing harm to people. It has been developed by the courts over many years. The duty is regardless of the size of the organisation, its income or whether the organisation has paid staff.

If your organisation asks a volunteer to do a task which results in them injuring themselves or anyone else, the members of the governing body may be liable. No matter what activities your organisation is involved in, from running a major hospital trust to organising day trips to the seaside, you will have to consider the duty of care owed to your volunteers.

Liability depends on establishing that the organisation failed to take reasonable care.

For example: a young volunteer working for your organisation was left unsupervised working with a garden shredding machine, and failed to wear the goggles supplied. He or she sustained an eye injury. Your organisation could be held liable if you failed to train or supervise the volunteer in the safe use of the shredding machine. The court may decide that leaving an inexperienced young person in charge of a machine unsupervised is unreasonable.

The notion of duty of care needs to be considered in all aspects of an organisation's work and activities.

A duty of care can arise in many ways which may not always be obvious, for example:

loaning equipment to others Back to top
charity walks and sponsored runs
running fêtes or fairs
organising day trips
selling food at a charity stall
Health and safety law for organisations with paid staff and volunteers

Health and safety law lays down your duties to your employees. The law also imposes further responsibilities on you as an employer with regard to people not in your employment, such as volunteers and other members of the public, who may be affected by your work activities.

Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, imposes a duty on every employer "to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, that persons not in their employment, who may be affected by their undertaking, are not exposed to risks to their health or safety" and "to give to persons (not being their employees) who may be affected in a prescribed manner information as might affect their health or safety".

This generally means that organisations which have both employees and volunteers have a statutory responsibility not to harm or damage the health of volunteers through their involvement in the activities of that organisation. Organisations may also have a responsibility to carry out risk assessment which may require volunteers to be provided with information and training. This would depend on the activities.

For example, if a volunteer working in a hospice is expected to lift heavy patients in and out of bed, you may have a duty to supply the volunteer with information and training on the correct manner and technique of lifting to enable the volunteer to lift the client safely, and to know when not to lift the client but to seek assistance. However, if a volunteer was helping to run a lucky dip stall, training may not be necessary.

A risk assessment would determine what level of training is required, if any.

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A recent case highlights the need to take these responsibilities seriously. A young child was hospitalised after daubing himself with a paintbrush left in a toilet of a cricket club. The executive members of the club were fined £8,000 between them, for breaching health and safety regulations.

Organisations with responsibility for buildings and premises

Anyone controlling non-domestic premises must take reasonable steps to provide employees and volunteers with equipment and premises that are safe, including safe routes of entrance and exit.

This means if you control or are responsible for premises you have a duty to make sure that the building is safe to use and complies with all the relevant health and safety regulations. This duty applies to places such as a community centre or scout hut, and also attached car parks or playgrounds.

Basic principles of health and safety

There are some key areas of health and safety which every organisation should examine. Not all of these are legally binding on organisations that do not employ staff, but it would be very poor practice not to comply with the legislation and official guidance in relation to volunteers.

For organisations that have paid staff and also involve volunteers it is strongly recommended that your organisation should implement the same health and safety requirements for volunteers that are demanded by law for paid employees.

If your organisation has no employees it may not be able to achieve the same standards of health and safety as required for employees in the short term. But by setting a timetable to aim to accomplish this, you will be demonstrating to your volunteers and the outside world the value you place on them, and their efforts to support your organisation.

Health and Safety Policy Back to top

A health and safety policy is the foundation on which to develop health and safety procedures and practices. The policy announces the organisation's commitment towards good health and safety standards. The policy can help to clarify procedures and areas of responsibility. Employers with fewer than five employees are not obliged to have a policy, but are strongly advised to do so. If an organisation involves volunteers, they should always be included in the health and safety policy as a matter of good practice.

The Health and Safety Executive has examples of model health and safety policies which can be used as a template.

If your organisation has no employees you are not obliged to have a health and safety policy, but are strongly recommended to draw one up. Developing a health and safety policy is a positive step and will help you clarify your procedures and responsibilities. If you also involve volunteers in the process, it will make them much more aware of health and safety issues.

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is a careful examination of what could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. The aim is to make sure that no one gets hurt or becomes ill.

The important things you need to decide are whether a hazard is significant and whether you have it covered by satisfactory precautions so that the risk is small.

Hazard means something that can cause harm. Risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody will be harmed by the hazard.

Hazards Back to top

Walk around your workplace and look for significant hazards which could result in harm to people.
Ask your employees and volunteers what they think.
Look at manufacturer's instructions and accident and ill-health records.

Who might be harmed and how?

Think about groups of people doing similar work.
Pay special attention to vulnerable groups eg young people, people with disabilities, lone workers.
Don't forget those who may not be in your workplace all the time eg cleaners, contractors, people you share your workplace with or members of the public who may be harmed by your activities.

Aim to make the risk small

Have you reduced risk as far as reasonably practicable?
Have you provided adequate information, instruction or training and adequate systems or procedures?
If so, the risks are adequately controlled, but you need to indicate the precautions you have in place.
If risks remain, write an action list of what else you need to do, giving priority to higher risks or those which could affect most people.
Try to either get rid of the risk or control it so that harm is unlikely.

Record your findings Back to top

If you have fewer than five employees, you do not have to write anything down, but it is strongly recommended.
If you have more than five employees, you must write down your significant hazards and conclusions and tell your employees about your findings.
Write down all:
* significant hazards
* groups of people who are at risk from the significant risks you have identified
* existing controls or note where the information may be found
* risks which are not adequately controlled and the action needed:
Keep your written record for future reference.

Review your assessment and revise if necessary

It is good practice to review your assessment from time to time to make sure that precautions are still working.
Set a date for reviewing the assessment.

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

All employers have a legal duty to assess the workplace for risks to health which may be caused by substances hazardous to health. They must take all necessary steps to control any risks identified. Items such as household bleach may seem harmless but in the hands of a small child are extremely dangerous. Assessment is the key to evaluating potentially dangerous substances in the workplace.

If your organisation has no employees it is not bound to do COSHH assessments but if it takes its duty of care seriously, it would be well advised to carry out such assessments, which are an excellent way to identify and overcome health and safety problems.

Fire Assessment Back to top

The Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005, implemented from October 2006, is a major shake-up of fire safety legislation for non-domestic premises, replacing over 100 pieces of overlapping legislation that govern fire safety in the UK. It imposes a common scheme of liabilities and responsibilities upon all employers, owners, occupiers, managers and supervisors of non-domestic premises.

When properties are in multiple occupation, duties and liabilities are shared. This will require an integrated approach to fire safety.

The local fire and rescue services no longer issue Fire Certificates and dictate how fire precautions should be implemented. Owners and occupiers now have to move towards a risk assessment approach and decide for themselves how to address those risks.

Amongst other things, it is now necessary to:

Assess the risks of fire;
Take steps to reduce or remove the risks;
Satisfy specific requirements; e.g. adequate means of escape, fire fighting and detection equipment;
Take steps to ensure that any plant or substance in or on the premises are safe;
Carry out effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of fire safety arrangements;
Appoint one or more persons to comply with the conditions of the Fire Safety Order;
Provide information to occupants and visitors relating to: identified risks, preventative measures, and the identity of the person responsible for fire safety;
Co-operate and co-ordinate with other persons sharing the premises;
Provide adequate fire safety training. Back to top

Although the local fire and rescue services no longer issue fire certificates, they are still responsible for "policing" the scheme. Failure to comply can lead to criminal prosecution and enforcement action.

A detailed guide to fire risk assessment is available in ‘Fire Safety: An employer's guide'.

Health, Safety and Welfare

All employers must provide:

a safe place to work which is clean and free from risks, to reduce the risk of ill health or injury;
a safe system of working, ie proper procedures for handling dangerous substances and adequate guards for machinery;
adequate supervision.

Employees must be given training and information to give them sufficient skills and knowledge to carry out their work safely

These regulations do not apply to organisations with no employees. However, such organisations do need to ensure that their volunteers can work in a risk free and safe environment.

Registering your organisation's activities Back to top

Any organisation employing staff, regardless of size or location, must register its existence with the local authority Environmental Health Department (or in some cases the Health and Safety Executive).

Organisations with volunteers only do not normally have to register their activities unless involved in dangerous activities, such as putting on a fireworks display.

If food is prepared, stored or supplied (even if provided free) on a regular basis, the premises must be registered with the local authority Environmental Health Department. Occasional activities are still subject to the General Food Regulations 2004, which prohibit ‘the placing of unsafe food on the market'.

You should always check with the local authority Environmental Health Department if you are in any doubt about the need for registering activities.

First Aid

All employers have a duty under law to make a first aid assessment. The need for first aid will depend on the organisation's activities. For instance an outward bound centre is very different from a morning coffee club. Again an assessment of the workplace is the key to deciding what first aid to provide. There are however minimum standards for organisations with employees.

There must be at least one first aid box and a notice displayed in the workplace telling staff:

the location of the first aid box Back to top
who is the first aider or appointed person (see below)
where the first aider or appointed person can be found.

An appointed person is someone who has basic first aid knowledge, and is available whenever people are at work. They can take charge in an emergency and are responsible for calling the emergency services. Details of one day courses to train appointed persons are available from the Health and Safety Executive.

Voluntary groups with no employees are not bound to do a first aid assessment, although it is clearly good practice. However in certain circumstances, like a large public fireworks display, there may be a legal duty to provide first aid facilities. For example, if you hold a public exhibition without first aid facilities and someone is injured, you may have broken your duty of care. If you have any doubts whatsoever you should always contact the Health and Safety Executive for advice.

Further information

Directory of Social Change's book ‘Health and Safety Handbook' (2^nd edition 2001, ISBN 1 903991 01 3, £16.95).

Health and Safety Executive

Risk Toolkit: How to take care of risk in volunteering - a guide for organisations

This draws on the results of research carried out by the Institute for Volunteering Research for the Volunteering Hub, with funding from the Home Office.

The Risk Toolkit explains the risks associated with volunteers and proposing how to deal with them. It is a resource for any organisation that involves volunteers - whether in the voluntary, statutory or private sector - and aims to simplify risk management for organisations just getting to grips with risk.

It offers: Back to top

Information: the main risks, legal liabilities, insurance
Advice and guidance: setting up and implementing systems
Methods and templates: techniques, tools and forms
Case studies: examples of organisations' good practice
Further sources: places to find out more.

The toolkit emphasises that ‘risk' is not inherently bad and that risk-taking is an essential part of volunteering. Women's refuges, hospices, environmental action, HIV/AIDS campaigning, work with former offenders, and international aid - these are all areas in which volunteer-involving organisations have been a powerful force for change because they were not afraid of taking risks. And risk is a vital element of the sports, adventure, play and recreation sector.

The Risk Toolkit says, however, that when it comes to involving volunteers things can go wrong and these may be preventable. Taking care of risks enables organisations to focus on opportunities and benefits.

Social Security Benefits

There can be a lot of confusion over whether volunteering affects an individual right to benefits. This is not helped by the fact that many benefits advisers are poorly informed about volunteering and often give people the wrong advice.

In practice, the rules are quite simple, and it's well worth knowing them so that you can advise volunteers if they have any queries.

Most Social Security benefits are the responsibility of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and managed through agencies such as Jobcentre Plus, Disability and Carers Service, and Pensions Service.

Definition of voluntary work Back to top

When it comes to claiming benefits, the Department for Work and Pensions defines a volunteer as a person who is:

not given any money, apart from their expenses
not legally obliged to volunteer
doing something for a not-for-profit organisation
doing something for someone who is not a family member

The three basic rules

You can volunteer for as many hours as you want, as long as you still meet the conditions to get your benefit or tax credit. The old rule that you could only volunteer for 16 hours a week no longer applies.

You can generally be refunded for your expenses by the organisation you are volunteering for without it affecting your benefit or credit. For tax credit purposes, any expenses you get for doing voluntary work will usually be disregarded when it comes to working out your income.

If you are getting an income-related benefit (like Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Council Tax Benefit, Housing Benefit or Pension Credit), you must declare any payment, payments in kind, or expenses you receive for doing voluntary work. You will also need to keep all your receipts, to back up your claim.

You must let whoever manages your benefits (eg your Personal Adviser at Jobcentre Plus) know when you start volunteering, and also tell them about any expenses you may be getting. You will probably be asked to fill in a form, giving some basic details about your volunteering opportunity.

Notional earnings Back to top

Choosing not to be paid for your work is not the same as volunteering. In these circumstances the wage that you would otherwise have been paid can be ‘notional earnings' and this could affect your benefits. Each case is decided on its own merits, but the difference between a ‘work opportunity' and a ‘voluntary opportunity' normally depends on:

whether your voluntary activity is helping society, or your community, in some way
whether you are working for a registered charity, or another similar not-for-profit organisation
whether the organisation would normally be expected to pay someone to do the same kind of work.

Carer's Allowance

Volunteering in the UK shouldn't affect your Carer's Allowance, as long as you follow the basic rules and are still caring for a disabled person, who is getting a qualifying benefit, for at least 35 hours a week.

Disability Living Allowance

Volunteering shouldn't affect your Disability Living Allowance if you live and volunteer in the UK as long as you follow the basic rules.

Educational Maintenance Allowance

Volunteering in the UK shouldn't affect your Educational Maintenance Allowance, as long as you are still meeting the terms of your learning contract, which sets out what is expected of you in terms of attendance, coursework and progress.

Housing Benefit Back to top

Volunteering in the UK shouldn't affect your Housing Benefit, as long as you follow the basic rules.

Incapacity Benefit

Volunteering shouldn't affect your Incapacity Benefit, as long as you follow the basic rules and can still attend a Work Focused Interview, when required to by Jobcentre Plus.

Income Support

Volunteering shouldn't affect your Income Support, as long as you follow the basic rules and can still attend a Work Focused Interview, when required to by Jobcentre Plus.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Volunteering shouldn't affect your Jobseeker's Allowance, as long as you:

follow the basic rules
are available for work
are actively seeking for full-time, paid work of at least 40 hours a week (unless exceptions apply)
are willing and able to attend a job interview at 48 hours' notice
are willing and able to take up a job at one week's notice

Expenses Back to top

Expenses do not constitute a payment, so volunteers can receive reimbursement of reasonable out of pocket expenses without their benefits being affected. But remember that only actual expenses should be reimbursed (see Handout 05 ‘Reimbursement of expenses').

Serious concerns had been expressed by many organisations over the Department for Work and Pensions booklet 'A Guide to Volunteering While on Benefits' (published in Spring 2006) which includes the statement that lunch expenses are not a legitimate expense to be reimbursed to benefit claimants.

A successful campaign resulted in Jobcentre Plus introducing "new rules" on meal expenses from 9 October 2006 confirming that volunteer meal expenses can legitimately be reimbursed without affecting benefits.

There have been some problems in the past where volunteers on benefits have been given advance payments (for instance for something that would cost a lot, such as childcare or a weekly travelcard).

The Social Security Amendment (Volunteers) Regulations 2001 states that Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance, and Incapacity Benefit are not endangered if a volunteer receives advance payment for expenses to be incurred in the future.

It is still essential to keep receipts and records, and the volunteer would have to repay to the organisation any money that was not spent.

Good practice for volunteer managers Back to top

It is good practice to inform volunteers that it is compulsory for volunteers to notify whoever manages their benefits (eg the Personal Adviser at Jobcentre Plus). As an organisation you have no duty to inform anyone of who is volunteering for you, so leave it up to the individual volunteer to decide.

It is good practice to give volunteers a letter that they can take to whoever manages their benefits (eg the Personal Adviser at Jobcentre Plus) explaining that they are volunteering for your organisation and they are not receiving any payments other than actual expenses.

Further information

If you need any more information or want to talk through an individual case you can contact Volunteering England's Information Team 0800 028 3304.

A Volunteer Policy for your organisation

The involvement of volunteers in any organisation can be a fruitful and rewarding experience for both the volunteers and for the organisation. But, if enough thought and care are not given to the involvement of volunteers, it can also become a source of great difficulty.

The Volunteering Code in the national Compact (the agreement between government and the voluntary and community sector in England to improve their relationship for mutual advantage) identifies four key principles fundamental to volunteering:

•1. Volunteering must be open to everyone: Volunteering should be open to all no matter what their background age, race, sexual orientation, faith, etc. Inclusiveness can build bridges, helping a diversity of people to feel usefully involved. Social exclusion barriers can be overcome by skills, experience, confidence and contacts gained while helping others.

•2. Volunteering must be the result of a free choice by the volunteer: Volunteering must be a choice freely made by each individual. Any encouragement to become involved in volunteering should not result in any form of coercion or compulsion. Freedom to volunteer implies freedom not to become involved.

•3. Volunteers must receive some benefits to make their contribution worthwhile: Volunteers' offer their contribution unwaged but should benefit in other ways in return for their contribution to wider social objectives. Giving voluntary time and skills must be recognised as establishing a reciprocal relationship in which the volunteer also receives. Benefits that volunteers expect to gain include a sense of worthwhile achievement, useful skills, experience, and contacts, fun and inclusion in the life of the organisation.

•4. Volunteers must be publicly recognised: Explicit recognition of the value of what volunteers' contribute to the organisation, to the community, to the social economy and to the wider social objectives is fundamental to a fair relationship between volunteers, organisations and government policy and practice.

1. Volunteering policy: The organisation's overall policy on using volunteers, which must be agreed at the most senior level, for example your Board.

2. Volunteer role descriptions: Similar to job descriptions and person specifications.

3. Volunteer handbook: The place for detailed policies and guidance for volunteers.

4. Volunteer agreement: Setting out what is hoped for from the volunteer and what the organisation will provide to help the volunteer do the work.

The process of producing and reviewing these four key documents should involve people at all levels in your organisation, including existing volunteers.

What you include in the volunteering policy, and its format, will depend on the nature of your organisation and the work undertaken by volunteers. A volunteering policy is the framework that for your organisation's approach and commitment to volunteers.

It should define the relationship between the organisation and volunteers, clarifying expectations and responsibilities. Consistent procedures for working with volunteers should result in volunteers feeling more supported, recognised and more motivated.

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A volunteering policy can be a relatively short and simple document, using clear language. It should be made available to everyone in the organisation. It should include statements about:

Why your organisation wants to involve volunteers and what added value the involvement of volunteers brings to the organisation.
A commitment to the four key principles fundamental to volunteering.
Recruitment and selection - how volunteers are recruited and selected.
Volunteer tasks - the range of voluntary work that is available in the organisation (and, if appropriate, what tasks are not suitable for volunteers).
Supervision and support - who has responsibility and what form it takes.
Equal opportunities and diversity - many organisations are now becoming aware of the benefits of having a diverse volunteer ‘workforce'. A diverse group of volunteers makes your organisation more welcoming to and more representative of the local community. Involving people from differing backgrounds, ages, cultures, genders and outlooks helps throw up new ideas and fresh approaches.
Insurance.
Health and safety.
Reimbursement of expenses.
Grievance and disciplinary procedures - it is good practice to have clear, written guidelines on what will happen when problems arise - these should be specifically for volunteers and will normally be less formal than those for paid workers.
Confidentiality - volunteers should have the same responsibilities for confidentiality as paid workers.
Participation by volunteers in your organisation's decision making processes - this can help to keep volunteers motivated and involved in the organisation.

"Get it Right from the Start: Volunteer policies - the key to diverse volunteer involvement" is available free from Volunteering England.

Volunteering England also offers a free service to review policies and make practical suggestions on how they can be improved.

Managing volunteers - a Good Practice checklist

Taken from "Volunteering: a Code of Good Practice", published in 2001, as part of the Compact on Relations between the Government and the Voluntary and Community Sector in England.

a Prior to recruitment, be clear about why you want/need a volunteer;

b Provide the volunteer with a clear role/task description, identifying anticipated requirement/s of the organisation;

c Provide the volunteer with an initial induction and training programme;

d provide the volunteer with appropriate line management;

e Add volunteers to organisation charts. Encourage volunteers to participate in the organisation's wider decision-making process;

f Monitor and acknowledge the contribution that volunteers make to the organisation, to the wider public, to funders and to other volunteers;

g Ask the volunteer what they seek from their placement and share with the volunteer what you want. Remember that any placement should be by mutual consent;

h Always offer to reimburse out-of-pocket expenses. These normally include travel and lunch. Where a placement is away from home, this might also include accommodation and a subsistence allowance;

i Ensure that Health and Safety standards are in place and applied equally to all employees and volunteers. Insurance policies should be extended to cover volunteers;

j Provide opportunities for volunteers to acquire or develop new or existing skills and assist volunteers who want to gain accreditation towards recognised qualifications;

k Volunteers should not be recruited to fill the place of paid staff. This could be perceived as exploitation of the volunteer and deprival of someone's livelihood;

l Ensure that the work and contribution of the volunteer adds quality and value to the organisation's aims and objectives;

m Ensure that Equal Opportunities and/or diversity policies are in place and applied equally to volunteers. Examine the organisation's ways of working for anything that may pose a barrier for some;

n Encourage and promote a diverse range of employees at all levels. This will help volunteers of different ethnic groups, ages, disabilities, etc, feel welcome; and

o In order to attract volunteers from groups that the organisation has previously failed to reach, it may be helpful to approach those groups/people directly to establish what would make volunteering with the organisation more appealing to them.

Many thanks to CVS for this information, and to Cathy Luffman at CPRE Derbyshire for alerting us to it. Details on how to contact CVS will be added very soon.

Fiona Cowan Back to top
14 July 2009