Volunteers & the Law

Reimbursement of genuine expenses is good practice.  There are many volunteers who would be unfairly discriminated against if expenses were not paid.  Reimbursement is not taxable, does not create an employment relationship and will not affect state benefits.

Reimbursement must be for 'genuine' expenses.  The volunteer must produce a receipt for money they have already paid out in order to do the tasks required by you and you should then pay it back to them.

If you pay a flat rate, of say £5 per day towards expenses, under the eyes of the law, you may be creating an employment relationship.  Your volunteers will not count as 'genuine' volunteers under the Minimum Wage Act and you could end up in Court!

Volunteer training is good practice and essential for many tasks.  Under the Minimum Wage Act, the training that you give your volunteers must be essential to the tasks they will be doing AND NO MORE.  If you provide training over and above what a volunteer needs to fulfil their work with you it may be viewed as a 'benefit' - your volunteers will not be 'genuine' volunteers and you may end up in Court!

When it comes to insurance, you need to inform your insurance provider how many volunteers you have; what they will be doing and how you will ensure your Duty of Care towards them.  Your volunteers will then be covered, along with any paid employees, under your Employee Liability Insurance, Public Liability Insurance etc.  If you do not have paid employees, it is still essential that you make sure your volunteers are insured, otherwise you may end up in Court for negligence!