37. Is it ok to pay volunteers honoraria?

It is only ok to pay an honorarium if it is totally unexpected and there is no precedent surrounding it. However if it can be proved that there was an expectation that the payment would be made in return for a certain piece of work, length of service, or on leaving the organisation then the payment would not be an honorarium but a payment and would therefore, be taxable and give the volunteer employee status.

It is best to be extremely wary about paying honoraria. As well as the possibility of creating a contract it may cause other problems. Benefits Offices generally see honoraria as a payment and may well dock the money off an individual's benefits. Honoraria can also create bad feeling amongst other volunteers who do not receive it and can be divisive. Given that you cannot routinely pay honoraria as a reward for good service without creating a contract, not all volunteers, even if they are putting in the same level of work, can receive it and therefore it often creates problems.

Instead of paying out honoraria organisations could make sure volunteers are able to claim expenses for meals, travel and care costs and that spare money is invested in making volunteer roles more rewarding. For example, offering more training, social activities, extra resources, tools to make the organisation more accessible etc.