There is legally no such thing as a 'volunteer' in the UK. Therefore there is no legislation that explicitly covers volunteers. However, employer supported volunteers are covered by employment law, including when they are offsite volunteering and including out of work hours, if it is an employer-sponsored project. Therefore employers are bound by a 'duty of care' to do everything reasonable to protect their employees from coming to harm whilst volunteering.
The basic principles of 'duty of care' are:
- Ensure the employer supported volunteers are adequately trained
- Ensure that the employer supported volunteers are adequately supported and supervised
- Ensure that employer supported volunteers are not placing themselves in danger
- Ensure the insurance policy covers employees volunteering outside of their place of work.
Before every employer supported volunteering project, you will need to consider the following:
- Risk Assessment
- Health & Safety
- Insurance
For projects that require employer supported volunteers to come into one-to-one contact with vulnerable people (e.g. minors, people with mental health problems, the elderly) they will most likely need to have a police check before they can start.
Risk assessment
Risk Assessment is a technique for identifying and controlling hazards of an organisation's activities. A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause harm and a risk is the likelihood of it causing harm and the degree of harm it could cause.
This means assessing the possible risk to employer supported volunteers (e.g. injury) and your organisation (e.g. damage to reputation, financial loss) of every task, and specifying the actions necessary to reduce or eliminate the risk.
Volunteer-involving organisations have a legal duty to do a risk assessment for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), a Fire Assessment, Buildings Safety Assessment and a First Aid Assessment.
Once a partnership between an employer and a volunteer-involving organisation has been agreed, it is then wise to discuss who is best placed to carry out the risk assessment. A 'project briefing sheet' should be completed and agreed by both parties, including a section on actions in the event of an emergency.
Health & safety
The employer has a legal duty to avoid carelessly causing injury to its employees. If an employer supported volunteer is asked to do a task which results in them injuring themselves or anyone else, liability will depend on establishing that the employer and volunteer-involving organisation failed to take reasonable care.
You may wish to ask employee volunteers the following questions before they undertake any activity:
Are you in reasonable health and fitness for the volunteering you will be doing?
Have you had appropriate vaccinations e.g. anti-tetanus?
Do you feel confident that you know how to do the volunteering task safely?
Do you know how to report problems that may arise?
Volunteers should always be given a basic induction on emergency procedures, fire and security precautions, and first-aid arrangements.
For practical projects, safe methods of work should be explained, such as instructions on the safe use of hand tools and the importance of safety clothing and footwear. Volunteers may not be allowed to use powered machinery or use chemicals classed as toxic, harmful or corrosive without the necessary qualification.
The volunteer-involving organisation also has to comply with Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which imposes a duty on every employer "to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, that persons not in their employment, who may be affected by their undertaking, are not exposed to risks to their health or safety" and "to give to persons (not being their employees) who may not be affected in a prescribed manner information as might affect their health or safety".
It is good practice for a volunteer-involving organisation to have a Health and Safety Policy which specifically includes volunteers.
Insurance
The basic safety principle when considering an employer supported volunteering project, is to check with your insurance broker that you are covered. Both the employer and volunteer-involving organisation should consider the following:
Employer's Liability Insurance
This covers employees in the event of accident, disease or injury caused or made worse as a result of work or of an employer's negligence. However, the policy must explicitly mention employee volunteers and the volunteering tasks they will be doing.
Public Liability Insurance
This indemnifies the volunteer-involving organisation for claims for death, illness, loss, injury or accident caused by their negligence. It also protects for loss or damage to property caused through negligence.
This insurance also needs to be taken out by the employer to cover their legal liability to third parties for death, injury, illness or property damage caused by their negligence or the negligence one of their employee volunteers.
Again, employer supported volunteers should be explicitly mentioned in the policy.
Extra cover will probably be needed for certain activities e.g. hiring venues, using power tools, involving animals, using motor vehicles.
Personal Accident Insurance
This provides cover for injury or death during the course of volunteering, and no legal liability has to be proved.
Fidelity Guarantee Insurance
This protects the volunteer-involving organisation against losses resulting from a volunteer's theft or fraud. The organisation may have to carry out screening such as police checks in order to be eligible.
Motor insurance
If a volunteer-involving organisation owns motor vehicles that are driven by employee volunteers, the organisation is responsible for arranging appropriate cover. If the employee volunteer is using their own vehicle, or a company car, they should inform their insurer to ensure they are covered.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability, professional indemnity errors and omissions or malpractice insurance covers the organisation for claims arising for loss or injury caused by services provided negligently or without reasonable care. Such loss might arise, for example, from incorrect care or inaccurate advice. An organisation can be sued for claims arising from incorrect advice or information even if it is given free or over the telephone. Professional liability insurance should also cover defamation, inadvertent breach of copyright, confidentiality and loss of documents.
It should be noted that employer supported volunteers offering professional help should make it clear that they are only make recommendations, not give advice, and that the final decision for any activity is with the management committee of the charity.
It is also prudent for the employer to check their insurance excess. If it is very high, then the employee volunteer, is in effect, not covered.
Trustee Liability Insurance
This protects trustees against personal liability arising from breach of trust (any action taken by the trustees outside the powers contained in the governing document). Insurance can also be purchased to indemnify trustees against 'wrongful trading' (if the organisation is a company), and costs of a successful defense in the case of a criminal prosecution of a trustees (in relation to their role).
A charity wishing to purchase trustee indemnity insurance should ensure their memorandum or association allows them to do this, and also to seek permission from the Charity Commission.
It is also important to assess whether the potential trustee has any conflicts of interest.
- For information on screening, police checking and Criminal Records Bureau checks please check the Volunteering England Information Sheet
And please also note:
Most volunteers would only need a ‘Standard’ check. It is also up to the employer that they check the true identity of the employee, as some people change their name for various reasons.
It is also important for employers to ensure that their volunteers are properly trained before they start volunteering in child protection issues.
These may include:
- Ensuring that they are never alone with a child, to protect themselves from possible allegations of abuse.
- How to behave around children, particularly children with special needs.
- Issues of confidentiality and when to disclose information if a child confides in the volunteer.
The employer needs to manage risk effectively. The employer should draw up a policy with their HR function to ensure that all potential issues and responses have been thought through in advance. The employer should also ensure that the school or voluntary organisation has adequate systems in place to engage and supervise volunteers.
Employees who have work experience minors coming into the office also need to be aware of child protection issues. They will not need CRB checks, but should be warned for example, of the dangers of being alone with a child. With e-mentoring, a CRB check is normally recommended, as the adult has regular access to the child.
For more information on the CRB, go to www.crb.gov.uk which also offers further information on the relevant acts and legislation surrounding confidentiality, the Data Protection Act and the Human Rights Act.
The importance of common sense
Of course, criminal records checks are not foolproof and are not a replacement for adequate training and supervision of employee volunteers.
Following are some guidelines, written by a leading company, which are given to their employee volunteers before volunteering in a school.
Volunteers Behaviour
So you’ve taken the plunge and joined a partnering scheme- well done! As with all things there are a few rules and guidelines which are designed to make the programme successful and enjoyable.
- Find out the aims and objectives of the volunteer scheme and aim to follow them.
- Please deal with one another, school staff and children in a courteous and polite manner.
- If you know that you are going to miss or be late for a session, please let the co-ordinator or the school/organisation know.
- If you receive any sensitive/personal information regarding the children or the school this must be treated as confidential.
- If you are concerned about anything a child tells you please share your concern with a senior staff member at the end of the session. If that is not possible contact a member of the Community Affairs team.
- You must not discriminate against other volunteers, children or school/organisation staff on the basis of their age, race, culture, religion, caste, disability, gender or sexuality.
- If you want to give a child a gift (e.g. birthday, Eid, Christmas or leaving) please okay it with a staff member at the school beforehand.
- You need to protect your integrity in every practicable way. One thing you must do is ensure you are never left alone with a child or group of children, there must be at least one other adult in the room at all times.
- At some point during the scheme (usually the beginning) you will be offered training and should make every effort to attend.
- If you want to leave the scheme, ideally you should give the co-ordinator at least one month's notice.
- In the unlikely event that a volunteer is acting against the best interests of a young person, the project manager can decide to bring the partnership to an end.
The boundaries of the relationship between pupil and partner will be outlined (usually at the training session). If you feel at any time that you are being asked to go outside these boundaries, please contact the Community Affairs Team. We are here to support you.
Volunteering in the health sector
Visit our health and social care section for more about volunteering in health and social care please see for information to support you in this field
Disclaimer
NB. The information in this document should be treated as recommendation only. Please always consult a trained risk assessor, a health & safety professional, and check with your insurance brokers before proceeding with any employer supported volunteering activity.
