10. Is there an accepted definition of the word ‘volunteer’?

Because there is no legal definition of what a 'volunteer' is the word is used by different people and different sectors to mean different things. For instance government schemes whereby people have to work for charities in return for benefits are sometimes described as 'voluntary' but many people would argue that since people taking part have to do the work they are not 'volunteers'. Equally many people work unpaid in order to gain experience in very competitive areas like television but most people would not describe them as volunteers.

The definition of volunteering used in the 1997 National Survey of Volunteering is " any activity which involves spending time, unpaid, doing something which aims to benefit someone (individuals or groups) other than or in addition to close relatives, or to benefit the environment".