EVERYONE LOVES VOLUNTEER

EVERYONE LOVES VOLUNTEER

Ally Fogg from the Guardian recently wrote the following

‘Everyone loves volunteers. Politicians laud them as the future of the nation; dignitaries pin them with gongs; the Queen invites them to tea. What a pity this admiration does not stretch to extending them any meaningful rights.

Volunteering England is launching a major inquiry to establish exactly what legal position volunteers should (and do) have. The results will be watched closely by the not-for-profit sector.’

Now as a charity trustee I agree that Volunteers are a major part of almost all charity operations and just like paid staff they must enjoy the full protection of the employment law .

However it is a fact of life that some charities are beginning to shy away from using volunteers because of all the paper work and extra overhead costs that the current legal system requires them to undertake re volunteers.

When dealing with Children and vulnerable adults the overhead cost of having a volunteer can be as high as 67% of a paid member of staff.

There have been cases of religious Charities actually closing down operations because there religious views conflict with the modern PC concept of what is acceptable .

LETS BE CAREFUL THAT IN PROTECTING THIS GOLDEN GOOSE WE DONT KILL IT !