Volunteering England is the integrated national volunteer development organisation for England. We work across the voluntary, public and private sectors to raise the profile of volunteering as a powerful force for change.
Volunteering is a fundamental part of life in the United Kingdom. Three quarters of the UK population are involved in volunteering, either through an organisation or group, or on a more informal basis. They make a rich and diverse contribution to society. They are engaged in mutual aid and self-help, participation, advocacy and service provision, as well as helping others. They spot and articulate unmet needs and emerging issues; they campaign as activists. The Compact Code on volunteering offers a clear definition of volunteering as “…the commitment of time and energy for the benefit of society and the community. The principle of non-payment of volunteers is central to society’s understanding of volunteering…Furthermore volunteering is an activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or individuals or groups other than (or in addition to) close relatives.” Volunteering England’s starting position is to uphold the principles of the Compact Code – in particular the definition of volunteering.
Volunteering England believes that the national minimum wage is there to protect workers and to further ensure that voluntary workers are not exploited.
There needs be no extension to the concessions in the National Minimum Wage Act to voluntary workers (and in many ways this concession has caused a great deal of misunderstanding and misinterpretation for the sector and government).
Volunteering England would not seek further concessions to expand the group of people currently identified as voluntary workers. Whilst Volunteering England might want clarity for volunteering on the back of this review (e.g. where would training cross the line into 'a benefit in kind' what is and isn’t considered remuneration), we are not speaking on behalf of paid 'volunteering'. Society may decide that low paid community work is a good thing, but we are neither for nor against it, as it's outside of our remit.
The volunteer contributes something distinctive and complementary to paid workers and voluntary workers, volunteers may well be doing it for complex motives, not always for love but certainly not for money.
