Employing family members and voluntary staff

Voluntary staff - points to consider

Many not-for-profit organisations benefit from taking on volunteers, eg to serve on committees, to raise funds, to create websites or databases and for mailshots. Other businesses may offer work experience or secondment opportunities to help build links with local communities or within their industry, or to help attract potential recruits.

Volunteers can be motivated and flexible. It's also cost-efficient to use volunteers providing they are suitable for the task or role. It is a good idea to give a permanent member of staff responsibility for coordinating volunteers, their training and supervision. This will help avoid friction with other permanent staff. You should consult volunteers on the level of involvement they would like, eg in meetings or discussion groups.

Volunteers who receive Jobseeker's Allowance may continue to be eligible providing they are actively seeking work and available to start work at short notice.

Read advice on the voluntary sector at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations website.

You can also get details at volunteering from the National Centre for Volunteering website.

Before taking on volunteers, weigh up the implications against the cost saving - some risks are similar to taking on unsuitable paid staff.

You should also be aware of the business considerations of managing volunteers such as:

• Whether the organisation has a suitable vacancy for the voluntary worker.
• Space needed for the volunteer. Try to minimise disruption and demands on paid staff.
• Flexible working arrangements required by voluntary workers. Think about the needs of paid staff and whether you can adopt across-the-board flexibility.
• Volunteers need an induction to the organisation and, possibly, task-specific training.
• Volunteers need to be supervised, managed and provided with personal and professional support.
• Volunteers need to feel welcome and appreciated. In the absence of pay/benefits, appreciation can be shown through supervision, recognition and involvement.
• As an employer you have a similar duty of care on health and safety issues to volunteer workers as to permanent staff - see the page of this guide on health and safety issues.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Family employees - consider your motives
• Family employees - minimising business risks
• Preventing communication breakdowns
• Employing your spouse
• Employing younger family members or volunteers
• Voluntary staff - points to consider
• Voluntary staff - contract rights, benefits and allowances
• Health and safety issues
• Tax reporting requirements - young, old or voluntary staff
• Here's how our business overcame the pitfalls of employing family members

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