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Examining the legal status of volunteers in employment law terms
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Volunteer or Employee: Do you know the difference?
Wednesday 16th May 2012
Stephen Jenkins, Partner
What is a volunteer? • No single definition• CRB rules• Compact Code of Good Practice
The growth in volunteering• The third sector• The “Big Society”
Volunteer or employee: Why is it legally important? • Employment rights• Tax and National Insurance• Intellectual property
Employment rights
• Employees: unfair dismissal, redundancy• Workers: minimum wage, annual leave• Others: discrimination
Employee status • Statutory definition• Case law tests
Case law tests• Multi-factorial approach• Control• Integration• Personal service• Mutuality of obligation
Worker status• Statutory definition• Personal service• No profession or business• Mutuality of obligation
Discrimination protection• Employees• Workers• Equality Act 2010
Equality Act 2010• s83(2): self-employed, providing personal service• s55: seeking or undertaking vocational training
Volunteer case law
Migrant Advisory Service v Chaudri (1997)• Administrative work• 2 year period• 4 mornings a week• Paid £25 per week “expenses”• Paid when on holiday or sick
Volunteer case law
Murray v Newham CAB (1999)• Agreement for specific times and for minimum
period• Training provided• Basic training courses
Volunteer case law
South East Sheffield CAB v Grayson (2004)• Agreement not signed• “To clarify the reasonable expectations”• “Usual minimum commitment” of 6 hours per
week• Requirement to give as much notice as possible
Volunteer case law
Melhuish v Redbridge CAB (2005)• Requirement to observe standards• Training courses
Volunteer case law
X v Mid Sussex CAB (2010)• No formal contract• CAB volunteers often become paid employees• X argued was vocational training
Volunteer case law
Breakell v West Midlands RFCA (2010)• Paid capped allowance to compensate for lost
earnings
Practical Tips • Draft agreements carefully• Make it clear not intending to create a contract• Only pay genuine out of pocket expenses• Don’t offer benefits in kind• Reduce obligations• Talk of “expectations” not “obligations”• Don’t make job offer dependent on volunteering
Cardiff Derby Nottingham
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