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Most volunteers don't have a contract of employment and so don't have the rights of an ordinary employee or worker. These include the right to a minimum wage, holiday and sick pay, and other statutory rights.
If you volunteer, you're normally told about this in a volunteer agreement. This is usually part of a set of documents, which includes a volunteer policy and voluntary work outlines, like a job description.
The volunteer agreement should explain:
Many voluntary organisations give children volunteer work, provided they're covered by the organisation's insurance.
However, in order to protect children from being exploited, the law limits what children under school leaving age can do (you are under school leaving age until the last Friday in June of the school year in which you turn 16). For example, if you are under 14 then you are not allowed to work for a profit-making organisation (this is true whether or not you are paid).
Under health and safety law, an organisation only has to have one paid employee to be an employer. If you're volunteering for an employer, it must assess any risks to your health and safety and take steps to reduce them - just as if you were a paid employee.
If there are different health and safety risks for volunteers than employees, then the protection you're given should reflect this.
As a volunteer, you'll generally be excluded from the National Minimum Wage and receive only basic expenses for your work. Expenses don't count as wages, as they're repaying you for costs you wouldn't have had if you hadn't been volunteering. Normally expenses will be limited to money for travel and food/drink as well as repaying you for money you have spent (or will be spending) on things you need for your work.
If you receive any benefits in kind they are likely to be limited to what you need while working such as food and drink and, if you are doing work away from home, accommodation. Training for your work may also be provided.
If you receive any other payment or benefit in kind for volunteering, this may mean you are actually classed as an ' employee' or a 'worker'. These categories have a specific meaning and have particular employment rights associated with them - the article on employment status explains more.
Examples of benefits that might mean you are classed as a ' worker' include:
As a volunteer, you have the same rights under the Data Protection Act as an employee. This means the organisation you're volunteering for must comply with rules on personal data about you held on a computer or in paper files. They can't process any of this data without your permission.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) offers free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues.
Your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) can provide free and impartial advice. You can find your local CAB office in the phone book or online.
There's no special provision under UK immigration law for people from outside the European Economic Area to come to the UK to do voluntary work. However, to support charitable work and youth mobility the government operates a concession. There are strict rules that must be met in order to qualify
From clearing ponds to planting trees - find conservation volunteering projects for all the family
