As your group grows, you will need to formalise the way you work with volunteers. This is to protect your organisation, your volunteers, your clients and to ensure that volunteers are treated equally and consistently.
The way you manage your volunteers can make all the difference between your group's success and failure. This is because volunteers, properly recruited and managed, can bring with them a wealth of skills and experience. However, volunteers also cost you time and resources to train and support - so you should think carefully about how and where you will involve them.
Basic Principles
The first step is to put together a Code of Practice in relation to your work with volunteers. This is to help you think about why you need volunteers and how you will work with them. It will also show your volunteers that you are taking your work with them seriously and will provide the basis for your working relationship together. Recent legal test cases have shown how important it is to define this relationship.
It is important that every one in your group is clear about the role that volunteers will play and the work they will do. Every one needs to feel confident about who you can involve as volunteers and what you can ask of them.
Consider:
-
Why your group exists, what you are trying to achieve and why you want to include volunteers.
-
The needs of your group, the needs of your users, and the needs of any potential volunteers.
-
Where may there be areas of conflict (e.g. Training and support). How could this conflict be overcome?
Equal Opportunities and about how you can involve people from as many different backgrounds as possible.
Your management committee will have the same legal Duty of Care in relation to volunteers as it will to paid staff and clients. This means that you will be expected to avoid carelessly causing injury to anyone.
You will need to decide how to recruit suitable volunteers, how to assess them, how to train them and how to protect them. This will be especially important if your volunteers will be working with vulnerable client groups, such as children, older people, or any one with a disability.
Code of Practice
The following list of headings is a useful guide to what you could include in your Code of Practice / Volunteers Policy:
Click to assess
Sample Governing Document
The Organisation:
Mission Statement; Aims & Objectives; who your organisation is for
The People:
Who is going to manage the work of volunteers; who will be their 'line manager'
Equal Opportunities:
Your commitment to volunteering as a right that is open to everyone.
Recruitment:
How volunteers are recruited; the interview process; references; expenses.
Task Descriptions:
Written outline of the tasks that volunteers will need to do, along with a statement saying that volunteers will not be restricted to these tasks and may discuss them if appropriate.
Agreement:
An agreement on the level of commitment volunteers need to give (to be kept to a minimum); what the volunteer should do if they can not attend (who to contact and by when) and what the volunteer or yourself should do to terminate the relationship.
Training:
Your induction program for all new volunteers; the purpose of task related training and what the training will include.
Support:
Team meetings; volunteer representation on the management committee; nature of on-going support and a named person to go to for help.
Insurance / Health & Safety:
Details of Public liability, personal accident, employees liability and contents insurance relating to volunteers. A statement that volunteer drivers need to inform their insurance company in writing that they are using their car for voluntary work. Your group's responsibilities for health and safety; proper use of equipment, protective clothing, building safety, first aid etc.
Confidentiality:
Statement outlining the importance of confidentiality and how confidentiality will be dealt with.
Volunteer Expenses:
Reimbursements offered to cover genuine expenses, travel, lunch etc. and how those expenses will be paid. Including details of mileage allowance and tax implications of mileage payments.
Volunteers on Benefits:
Statement about the right of unemployed people to volunteer; the need to inform the benefits office.
Do's & Don’ts:
Things volunteers should and should not do while working with you.
Reviewing the volunteer policy:
Agreed procedures for regularly reviewing the Volunteer Policy.
|
