Managing volunteers

Volunteers, whether active Management Committee members or one-off helpers, are valuable contributors to the work of the Voluntary and Community Sector. 

There are a number of things to think about carefully before taking on volunteers.  It is worth putting these details down in writing in a brief volunteer policy.

• For further information and guidance read the "Get it Right from the Start" guide on the Volunteering England website. 

The legal status of volunteers can sometimes be confusing and complex.  For further information:

• see the summary of the Volunteering England publication 'Volunteers and the Law'  
• and go to 'Legal Issues and Volunteering'.

Organisations may want to reimburse genuine out-of-pocket expenses such as travel or childminding costs or provide other rewards to keep their volunteers.  See the online information sheets available from Volunteering England:

• 'Volunteer Expenses'
• 'The National Minimum Wage and Expenses' 
• 'Rewards and Recognition'
• 'Support and Supervision'.

Volunteers themselves will have some clear obligations to follow the law and therefore comply with, including:

• Health and safety, or see the Volunteering England information sheet 'The Health & Safety of Volunteers'
• Child or vulnerable adult protection, see 'Screening and Police Checking'
• Equal opportunities 

You may wish to provide volunteers with a written agreement. 

• See 'Sample Volunteer Agreements' 

Further information:

• Volunteering England at http://www.volunteering.org.uk/

Volunteering England (London)
Regents Wharf
8 All Saints Street
London N1 9RL
United Kingdom
Tel: 0845 305 6979
Fax:020 7520 8910
Email: information@volunteeringengland.org

The Information Service can be contacted on
FREEPHONE 0800 028 3304 (UK only)

Volunteering England is the main volunteer development organisation for England. It provides up to date information about developments in volunteering policy and practice, volunteering policies and guidelines and it runs a grants programme.

• Vol Resource website provides links to useful information on everything to do with running a voluntary organisation
  

Books:

• 'Good Practice Guide' published by and available from Volunteering England.  The guide covers the basics of managing volunteers and includes the latest information on criminal records screening, changes to the benefits rules and why you need to take extra care with volunteers' expenses payments.
• 'Essential Volunteer Management' by Steve McCurley and Rick Lynch, published by the Directory of Social Change.
• 'The Voluntary Sector Legal Handbook' by Sandy Adirondack & James Sinclair Taylor, published by the Directory of Social Change and available via Sandy Adirondack's website.  The handbook is a detailed guide to the law as it affects voluntary organisations and includes a section on Employees, Workers, Volunteers and Other Staff.
• 'Just About Managing' by Sandy Adirondack, published by Directory of Social Change.  Its chapters on Managing People, Managing the Recruitment Process and Managing Workers' Performance have specific reference to volunteers.

LVSC Courses:

• Managing Volunteers - topics include methods of recruiting and keeping volunteers, developing induction processes and developing positive mechanisms for motivation and reward.
• Recruiting Volunteers - topics include developing a recruitment strategy, matching the needs of the organisation to those of the volunteer, finding an appropriate role for them within the organisation and the legal implications of using volunteers.

Can't find what you're looking for?

Please email us and we will try to answer your question as best as we can.

 

Page last reviewed: 29th April 2010