Press release: Childcare expense decision creates barriers for low income volunteers

30 November 2007
For immediate release

Volunteering England is deeply concerned by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) statement that volunteers are not entitled to reimbursement of childcare costs. It is surprising to see this in the context of the Minimum Wage Act as it is in stark contrast to recent legal rulings on the status of volunteers. The guidance is also in conflict with the Department for Work and Pensions’ views on volunteer expenses.

Justin Davis Smith, Acting Chief Executive of Volunteering England, said:

“The reimbursement of child care is not a benefit to the parent. They are incurring this cost as a direct consequence of volunteering. Expecting volunteers to be out of pocket through giving up their time places a significant barrier in the path of people on a low income who want to contribute to their community.”

Volunteering England hopes that this oversight on the part of BERR can be swiftly resolved. We would be happy to collaborate with the Department to produce guidance on volunteering and the minimum wage.

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Notes to editors

• For more information or interviews please contact Cat Dean on 020 7520 8932 or email cat.dean@volunteeringengland.org. For out of hours enquiries contact Sonya Roberts on 07952 128 057
• In the 2003 case of South East Sheffield CAB vs Grayson (UKEAT/0283/03/DA) the provision of child care expenses alongside other out of pocket expenses was felt to be reasonable and not amounting to a benefit to the volunteers. This case was deciding whether certain volunteers could be considered to be legally employed, the same issue that applies if the minimum wage were to be claimed by a volunteer.
• In their internal Decision Maker’s Guide the DWP explicitly use child care costs as an example of legitimate expenses that do not affect benefits for claimants who volunteer.
• BERR’s response to its consultation on the National Minimum Wage and Voluntary Workers can be found at http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file42602.pdf
• Volunteering England aims to improve the quality, quantity, impact and accessibility of volunteering throughout England. For more information please visit www.volunteering.org.uk
• The Volunteering England Convention Transforming Passion into Power: Volunteering at the heart of social change is being held on 23-25 April 2008. Make sure the dates are in your diary. For regular updates, www.volunteering.org.uk/convention