Seeking volunteers for your charity?

Seeking  volunteers for your charity?

The normal methods of recruitment will be :

  • word of mouth
  • personal recommendation
  • advertising in national or local press

Websites where you can advertise volunteer roles include Volunteering England, Reach and TimeBank and Do-it.org.

KnowHowNonProfit has guides on where to find volunteers and the volunteer recruitment process.

Make Criminal records checks

If your volunteers will be working with children or vulnerable adults, by law you can get a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS, formerly the Criminal Records Bureau) on them.

The DBS will search police records to identify people who are unsuitable for certain types of work, especially work involving children and vulnerable adults.

Legal status of volunteers

Your charity could get into legal difficulties  if you don’t clearly distinguish between its paid employees and volunteers. You do not have a contract of employment as a volunteer, so you do not have the same rights as an employee or worker.

A written role description for your volunteers can help make it clear what the expectations are.

Expenses for volunteers

Volunteers will not be  paid for their time but would normally be paid for any out-of-pocket expenses. These expenses could include:

  • travel
  • postage and telephone costs if working from home
  • essential equipment, such as protective clothing

Volunteers should provide receipts for any expenses they incur.

If a volunteer receives any type of reward or payment other than expenses, they may see this as a salary and they could be classed as an employee or worker. This then gives them some employment rights.

Insurance to cover volunteers

 

It is important to have adequate insurance cover for your charity.

Check    your charity’s insurance covers any volunteers. Even if your charity doesn’t employ staff, you may still decide to take out employers’ liability cover for volunteers.

Check whether your insurance policy:

  • includes volunteers
  • covers the activities volunteers will be doing
  • states any age limits for volunteers

Similar Articles

Richmond Group of Chariti... Research commissioned by the Richmond Group of Charities shows that charities can add value to the health and care system in a number of ways – which
Good news for charity tr... The High Court has today ruled against the Official Receiver in its case for disqualification brought against the directors of the charity “Kids Company”, together with its CEO Camila
London Olympics legacy f... More amateur sports charities have been set up and the sector’s income has increased in the years following the London 2012 Olympics, an analysis by the Charities
Can our charity assist wi... The Charity Commission’s guidance has been updated to give consideration of the extent to which the charity sector can undertake activities aiming to help with the effects
Charity accounts – ... The main reasons why charity accounts submissions do not meet the basic benchmark  are: failure to evidence that accounts had been subject to independent scrutiny by an
Digital Technology – co... The digital age matters to trustees as it affects key areas such as strategy, governance, fundraising, marketing, cybersecurity, culture and service delivery. It also brings opportunities, risks
Trustees responsibility w... Charities regularly enter into contracts with third parties, and the charity trustees must take the time to ensure they are acting in the best interests of the
Charities remain at risk ... The Charity Commission warns that trustees, charity professionals and volunteers should continue to be aware of online extortion or ‘ransom’ demands affecting UK businesses. Charities could also
Coronavirus (COVID-19) gu... The Charity Commission have updated their guidance for dealing with coronavirus which we clearly have to cope with for forseeable future so it is worth reading the
Seeking volunteers for y... Seeking  volunteers for your charity? The normal methods of recruitment will be : word of mouth personal recommendation advertising in national or local press Websites where you

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *