Provision House Lecturer

olunteering is not employment
Volunteers aren’t employees and aren’t covered by employment law.

It’s important to keep a difference between paid staff and volunteers. It should always be clear that:

volunteering is the volunteer’s choice
volunteer roles are not the same as employee roles
volunteers are not a replacement for paid staff.
To make sure you’re not treating volunteers like employees, you should:

avoid language that suggests employment (for example, refer to a volunteer agreement rather than a contract)
have separate processes for recruiting and supporting staff and volunteers
talk about what you expect from volunteers rather than saying they ‘must’ or ‘have to’ do anything
not sanction volunteers for not meeting expectations
avoid perks that could look like payment (for example, training not needed for the role)
treat unpaid interns as volunteers and paid interns as staff
not ask volunteers to book or apply for holiday or