Toolkit for Volunteers

The toolkit has been produced for volunteers and is intended to provide some useful information and ideas.

Definition of a Volunteer

Data Protection and Copyright

A volunteer has the same rights under the Data Protection Act as an employee. This means the organisation must comply with rules on personal data held on a computer or in paper files. None of this data may be processed without the permission of the volunteer.

Data protection principles:
Under the law, personal data must be:

• Fairly and lawfully processed.
• Obtained only for specified and lawful purposes.
• Adequate, relevant and not excessive for the purposes for which it is processed.
• Accurate and up to date.
• Not kept longer than necessary.
• Processed in accordance with the rights of individuals.
• Kept secure.
• Not transferred to countries where data protection legislation is inadequate.

Copyright normally belongs to the person who created the work. The law says that material produced by employees belongs to their employer but makes no mention of volunteers.

Therefore organisations should ask volunteers to transfer copyright to them or agree a licence whereby the organisation can use the work within agreed limits. While this may seem a trivial issue, Volunteering England cites examples where volunteers have been producing work for important publications such as annual reviews, but following disputes with their organisations have refused to allow them to use their work.

Volunteer Records
No clear guidelines exist for the retention of volunteer records, but organisations should follow the data protection principle that data should not be kept longer then for the purpose for which it was taken. The Criminal Records Bureau states that disclosures should not be kept for longer than six months if there is still action pending on them, otherwise CRB disclosures should be destroyed after all relevant decisions have been taken.

Code of Conduct

While volunteering, it is still important to behave and conduct oneself appropriately.  Some of the key issues to be thought through carefully include the following:

Dress Code
Please dress appropriately for your chosen role.

Timekeeping and Reliability

Good timekeeping and reliability are essential. As such, rotas need to be followed as well as turning up to work on time. If there is need to take time off, it is important to discuss it with the relevant line manager or supervisor first, in order that they have time to make cover arrangements.

Conduct and Well-Being
Avoid using bad language and make sure that any external activities you engage in are acceptable.

Organisation’s Policies
It is expected that all volunteers respect the organisation’s policies on issues like racial discrimination, sexual harassment, affirmative action and disability discrimination. If unsure or not understanding the law on any issues, seek clarification at the earliest opportunity.

Feedback
Be prepared to be pro-active in your work. Organisations often like to get feedback and opinions on how to improve their services and work practices.

Leaving Your Role
Should there be a need to leave a volunteering position, notice should be given. This should be in accordance with any guidelines you have been given.

Expenses
Normally, host organisations will reimburse expenses such as transport costs, upon presentation of receipts.

Problem Solving Procedure
In the event of problems or disputes, volunteers are encouraged to bring any concerns directly to the attention of their immediate supervisor or, if uncomfortable in doing so, to their second level manager.

Health and Safety
All volunteers need to be aware of issues that affect their health and safety at work. As a volunteer, you have a duty to take care of your own health and safety and that of others. Health and safety legislation requires employers and workers to cooperate.

Criminal Records Bureau Checks
Some organisations require satisfactory CRB clearance for certain jobs. This service enables them to make more informed recruitment decisions by identifying candidates who may be unsuitable for certain work, especially those that involve children or vulnerable adults. 

References
Normally, references will be required for all voluntary positions.

Volunteers on Benefits

There is no reason why a person in receipt of benefits should not be considered for a volunteer role. In the past, there have been different rulings from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) relating to the amount of time people receiving benefits were able to devote to volunteering, which has given rise to some confusion regarding whether such people are able to volunteer. The current position is that DWP is happy for people in receipt of benefits to volunteer, partly in recognition of the potential benefits of volunteering in terms of working routine, social aspects and learning new skills.

The DWP has ruled that people in receipt of benefits can volunteer for as many hours as they wish, provided they still meet the conditions to get their benefit or tax credit. (The old rule that they could only volunteer for 16 hours no longer applies). DWP advise that anyone claiming benefits who wished to volunteer should discuss this with their benefits adviser before they start.

Volunteers in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance are required by DWP to be able to attend an interview within 48 hours of being asked, and are able to start work within a week of being offered a job. Jobcentre Plus needs to be able to contact them while they are volunteering.

For tax credit purposes, any expenses received while doing voluntary work will usually be disregarded when it comes to working out a volunteer’s income, although those receiving an income-related benefit (like Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Council Tax Benefit or Housing Benefit) will need to retain receipts.

The DWP website, www.dwp.gov.uk, contains current information on this topic, and the booklet ‘A Guide to Volunteering While on Benefits’ can be downloaded from this site.