Policy templates / Volunteer Policy
Charity Volunteer Policy Template (Free, UK)
Highlighted parts are yours to complete. A starting point to adapt, not legal advice.
1. Why we have this policy and who it covers
[your charity] could not do its work without volunteers. This policy explains what people can expect from us when they volunteer, and what we ask of them in return. It is a starting point we adapt to each role. It is not a contract, it does not create any legal obligation on either side, and it is not legal advice.
It applies to everyone who gives their time to us unpaid, including trustees acting as volunteers, and to the staff and trustees who involve them. It sits alongside our other policies (for example safeguarding, health and safety, and data protection), which apply to volunteers too.
2. What we mean by volunteering, and why it is not a job
Volunteering with us is freely given and unpaid. We deliberately keep it that way, because it protects both sides.
- We do not require volunteers to attend or to do a set number of hours. We agree what works for each person and treat commitments as mutual hopes, not enforceable duties.
- We do not pay volunteers for their time, and we do not promise a paid job in return for volunteering.
- We reimburse genuine out-of-pocket expenses only (see clause 5), never a wage, honorarium or round-sum allowance.
This matters because if we paid a volunteer for their time, or bound them with obligations like an employee, the law could treat them as a worker or employee, with rights to the minimum wage and more.4 We keep volunteering clearly voluntary so that does not happen by accident.
3. Becoming a volunteer: a fair welcome and the right checks
We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds and aim to make the process open and straightforward. We do not treat people less favourably because of who they are, and we make reasonable adjustments so people can take part. To get involved, someone contacts our volunteer contact for an informal chat about the role and what it involves.
Some roles need checks before someone can start:
- Safeguarding checks. Where a role involves working with children or adults at risk, we carry out the checks that role requires, including a DBS check at the correct level where the role is eligible.6 We do not place anyone in that kind of role until the checks are complete. Our safeguarding policy sets out how we recruit safely and who decides which checks a role needs.
- Identity and eligibility. We confirm a volunteer's identity. Genuine volunteers do not need the right to work, but the role must be truly voluntary. We do not use volunteering to get around immigration or pay rules.
- References. We take at least one reference for roles where that is proportionate.
[Our volunteer contact] keeps a record of which checks were done and the date each was completed, so we can show a role was filled safely.7
4. Getting started: induction, information and your main contact
Every volunteer has a named person to go to. For [role/team], that is [name / role]; if they are unavailable, contact [deputy]. Put a real name or role here before you adopt this policy, and update it when people change.
Before or soon after someone starts, we give them a short induction covering what the role involves, who is who, how to stay safe, how to claim expenses, how to keep information confidential and use our systems for it, and how to raise a concern. We give them the policies that apply to their role and check they know where to find them.
5. Expenses
No one should be out of pocket for volunteering with us. We reimburse reasonable, actual expenses a volunteer has to spend to do their role, for example travel, meals on long days, or materials, against receipts or another record of what was spent.
We do not pay flat rates, round sums or payments "for your time", because HMRC can treat those as taxable earnings and they can put a volunteer's status at risk.3 To claim, complete our expenses form and give it to [name / role] for approval, with receipts. We aim to repay claims within 15 working days.
6. Health, safety and insurance
We owe volunteers a duty of care and take it seriously.5 Before a volunteer starts an activity, we assess the risks in a way that is proportionate to what they will actually be doing, tell them what to watch for, and provide any equipment or training the task needs.
Volunteers play their part too: following the safety guidance we give, looking after themselves and others, and telling their contact about accidents, near-misses or hazards as soon as they can, so we can act and keep a record.
Our public liability insurance, and our employers' liability insurance if we have staff, covers volunteers acting within their role; we confirm this with our insurer. Volunteers should stay within the role they have agreed and check with their contact before doing anything outside it.
7. Higher-risk tasks: driving and handling cash
Two common volunteer tasks need simple conditions set before anyone starts, because they carry more risk.
- Driving beneficiaries. A volunteer who drives beneficiaries in their own car must have a valid driving licence, a current MOT, and motor insurance that covers volunteer or business use. We check these before they drive and again each year. Ask your insurer to confirm volunteer driving is covered, as it often needs adding. Get this wrong and a volunteer can be driving uninsured, which puts them, the people we help and the charity at risk after even a minor accident.
- Handling cash. Where volunteers collect or count cash, for example at a stall or event, we follow the cash-handling and banking controls in our Financial Controls Policy, so takings are always counted by two people and banked promptly. One person never handles cash alone.
8. Information, confidentiality and data protection
We hold some personal information about volunteers (such as contact details and, for some roles, check results) so we can involve them safely. We keep it secure, use it only for running our volunteering, and hold it no longer than we need, in line with our data protection and retention policies.8
Volunteers, in turn, often see information about the people we help or about the charity. We ask them to:
- keep it confidential and use it only for their role, and not share details of the people we help with family or friends, or on social media, even without names;
- contact beneficiaries through the charity's own systems rather than a personal account, and not keep beneficiary information at home;
- hand back or securely delete any charity information, keys and equipment when their role ends.
The confidentiality risk that is unique to volunteering is a role boundary quietly slipping: a well-meaning volunteer befriends someone we help, starts messaging them directly, and passes on a private detail. If a volunteer is ever worried that keeping something confidential could put someone at risk, they should raise it straight away. Safeguarding always comes first.
9. Sorting out problems, raising a concern, and ending a role
Most issues are best sorted informally with a quiet word. If a volunteer is unhappy about something, they can raise it with their contact or with [named person], who will listen and try to put it right. Because volunteering is not employment, we do not run a formal disciplinary or grievance process for volunteers, but we will always be fair and explain our reasons.
If a volunteer has a serious concern about safety, safeguarding or wrongdoing, they should raise it at once with our safeguarding lead or a named trustee, and our safeguarding and whistleblowing policies tell them how.
Volunteering can end at any time, on either side. A volunteer can stop whenever they wish, and we would appreciate knowing. Occasionally we may end a role, for example if it is no longer needed, or if someone is not right for it or puts others at risk. We will explain why and, where we can, help them find another way to be involved.
10. Reviewing this policy
We review this policy at least every two years, and sooner if the law, our insurance or the way we work changes. This policy is owned by [role / trustee] and was last adopted on [date]. We make it available to all trustees, staff and volunteers, and offer it in another format if someone needs one.
More about this policy
When you need it
There is no legal duty to have a volunteer policy. It is good practice, recommended by NCVO and expected under the Charity Governance Code, and any charity that involves volunteers benefits from setting out clearly how it treats them.
But the policy still has to respect several things that are the law:
- Health and safety. You owe volunteers a duty of care under health and safety law, the same as anyone affected by your activities.[5]
- Data protection. Volunteer records are personal data covered by UK GDPR.[8]
- Safeguarding. Where volunteers work with children or adults at risk, the right checks (including a DBS check where the role is eligible) are a safeguarding duty, not an option.[6]
- Employment status. Treat a volunteer too much like staff, by setting firm obligations or paying more than genuine expenses, and the law may decide they are actually a worker, with pay and rights to match.[4]
So even the shortest policy has to cover those four points. Everyone who recruits or manages volunteers should know it, and trustees should adopt it. This template is a starting point, not legal advice. Adapt it to your charity and take advice if you are unsure.
What it protects against5 examples
Someone starts helping with children or adults at risk before any check is done, because nobody decided the role needed a DBS check or a reference. Months later a safeguarding concern surfaces and the charity has no record of ever vetting them.
The policy makes clear which roles need a DBS check and references, that these happen before the person starts working unsupervised, and that a named person keeps the record. Roles with no contact with vulnerable people are not held up by checks they do not need.
A regular volunteer is given set hours, told off for not turning up, promised a small weekly cash payment and free lunches. The wording and the pattern start to look like employment, and the charity risks a minimum wage claim and back-dated employment rights.
The policy says volunteering is not a contract of employment, that the charity does not promise work or pay, and that only real out-of-pocket expenses are reimbursed. It uses the language of agreement and expectation, not obligation, hours and wages.
A volunteer drives beneficiaries in their own car, or handles cash at a fundraising stall, with no licence check, no business-use insurance and no second person counting the money. There is an accident or money goes missing and the charity cannot show it took basic care.
The policy sets simple conditions for higher-risk tasks: driving needs a valid licence, MOT and the right insurance; handling money needs two people and a receipt. Volunteers know which tasks carry these conditions before they take them on.
A volunteer takes a list of beneficiary names and phone numbers home, adds people to a personal WhatsApp group, or shares a case detail with a friend. The charity has a data protection breach and a broken confidence it did not train for.
The policy says volunteers keep personal information confidential, use charity systems not personal accounts for beneficiary contact, and hand everything back when they stop. Confidentiality is covered at induction, not assumed.
A volunteer starts giving advice they are not qualified to give, speaks to a local reporter as if for the charity, or tells a beneficiary the charity will pay for something. There is no agreed limit to their role and no easy way to have the conversation or to end the arrangement.
The policy gives each volunteer a short role outline showing what they can and cannot do and who to check with, and sets out a clear, fair way to raise a concern and, if needed, to end a volunteering arrangement.
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How to enforce it
Practical steps to make it live, not just filed:
- Name one person as responsible, usually a volunteer coordinator or a trustee, who keeps a simple list of volunteers: their role, start date, what checks were done and the date they were done.
- Decide by role, not by person, which volunteering needs a DBS check and references. Do those checks before the volunteer starts working unsupervised with children or adults at risk, and do not hold up low-risk helpers who do not need them.
- Give each volunteer a short induction chat and a one-page role outline, so they know what they can and cannot do, who to go to with a problem, and the basics on confidentiality and expenses.
- Keep expenses clean: a simple claim form or receipts, paid promptly by bank transfer where you can, and no regular cash payments that could look like wages.
- Have a quick catch-up now and then, give people a clear and kind way to raise a concern, and be willing to end a volunteering arrangement if it is not working. Write down when you do.
What larger charities add6
Pull one in only when it matches something you actually do:
- Role outlines and a volunteer agreement Mid-size (£1m to £10m)+
- Support, supervision and recognition Mid-size (£1m to £10m)+
- Learning and development Mid-size (£1m to £10m)+
- Equality, diversity and inclusion Mid-size (£1m to £10m)+
- Managing volunteering at scale Large (£10m+)+
- Volunteers with lived experience and the staff and volunteer boundary Large (£10m+)+
What people get wrong
- Copying a large charity's volunteer handbook, with pages of disciplinary, grievance and probation procedures lifted from HR. A small charity can neither run it nor mean it, and the employment-style wording is exactly what pushes volunteers towards worker status.. Keep it to a page or two. Describe roles and shared hopes, not obligations. If your policy reads like a staff contract, cut it back until it plainly says volunteering is free and voluntary.
- Writing something so thin it ignores the real legal touchpoints, with no mention of safeguarding checks, expenses limits, health and safety, or data protection. A friendly one-pager that skips these leaves genuine duties uncovered.. However short your policy, make sure the small-charity clauses here are all present: checks for at-risk roles, receipted expenses only, duty of care and insurance, conditions for driving and cash, and confidentiality and data protection.
- Using contract language, such as "you must attend your shifts", set hours, obligations, or promising work in return. This is the fastest way to accidentally create a worker or employee, with minimum-wage and other rights attached.. Use "we hope", "we ask", "as agreed". Make clear attendance is voluntary and there is no promise of paid work. Never bind a volunteer the way you would an employee.
- Paying flat-rate or round-sum "expenses", honoraria, or thank-you payments. HMRC can treat these as taxable earnings, and they can hand a volunteer worker status and back-pay claims.. Reimburse actual, receipted out-of-pocket costs only. If you want to thank people, do it in kind, not with money for their time.
- Leaving the named-contact and safeguarding-lead fields blank, so no one actually owns volunteer support or knows where a concern goes.. Put a real name or role against the volunteer contact, the safeguarding lead and the policy owner before you adopt it. Update them when people change.
Terms used here2
- DBS
- Disclosure and Barring Service, the UK criminal-record check for people working with children or adults at risk.
- reasonable adjustments
- Changes an organisation must make so a disabled person is not put at a disadvantage.
Sources9
Numbered to match the [n] citations in the template.
- Writing a volunteer policy (NCVO) good practice
- Involving volunteers: good practice hub (NCVO) good practice
- Volunteer opportunities, rights and expenses (GOV.UK) Commission guidance
- Volunteers and employment rights (NCVO) Commission guidance
- Charity and voluntary organisations: your health and safety duties (HSE) legal duty
- DBS eligibility guidance (Disclosure and Barring Service, GOV.UK) legal duty
- Safeguarding duties for charity trustees (Charity Commission) legal duty
- UK GDPR guidance and resources (ICO) legal duty
- Equality Act 2010: guidance (GOV.UK) legal duty