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Your rights as a volunteer

If you volunteer, you will normally be given a volunteer agreement. The volunteer agreement should explain:

• Get a sample volunteer agreement Opens new window

• Criminal record checks: an introduction (employment section)

Minimum age

Many voluntary organisations will allow children to volunteer, provided they're covered by the organisation's insurance.

However, if you are under 14, then you are not allowed to work for a profit-making organisation (this is true whether or not you are paid).

Health and safety

Under health and safety law, an organisation only has to have one paid employee to be an employer. If you're volunteering for an employer, it must assess any risks to your health and safety and take steps to reduce them. This is the same as if you were a paid employee.

If there are different health and safety risks for volunteers than employees, then the protection you're given should reflect this.

• More about employers' health and safety responsibilities (employment section)

Pay, expenses and training

As a volunteer, you'll generally be excluded from the National Minimum Wage and receive only basic expenses for your work. Expenses don't count as wages, as they're repayment for costs that only came about through volunteering. Normally expenses will be limited to money for travel, food and drink, as well as repayments for things you have had to buy for your work.

If you receive any benefits in kind, they are likely to be limited to what you need while working. This could include food and drink and, if you are doing work away from home, accommodation. Training for your work may also be provided.

If you receive any other payment or benefit in kind for volunteering, you may be classed as in a contractual relationship like an ' employee' or a 'worker'. These categories have a specific meaning and have particular employment rights associated with them. 'Find out more about employment status' explains more.

You might be classified as an employee if you get certain kinds of benefits in the role - for example, if you are:

• Find out more about employment status (employment section)

• Information about the national minimum wage (employment section)

Data protection

As a volunteer, you have the same rights under the Data Protection Act as an employee. This means the organisation you're volunteering for must comply with rules on personal data about you held on a computer or in paper files. They can't process any of this data without your permission.

Where to get employment rights help

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) offers free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues.

• Contact Acas Opens new window

Your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) can provide free and impartial advice. You can find your local CAB office in the phone book or online.

• Find a Citizens Advice Bureau or get online advice Opens new window

Overseas volunteers

People from the European Economic Area (EEA) are free to volunteer in the UK. The EEA countries are the countries of the European Union (EU) plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

If you are from a country not in the EEA, you will need to check the regulations for the visa you hold. You may need sponsorship from a UK charity. If strict qualifying rules are met, the government will try to support charitable work and youth mobility.

• Information about temporary charity workers from overseas Opens new window

• Voluntary work abroad (Britons living abroad section)

More useful links

• Find out more about volunteering on the Volunteering England website Opens new window

• Advice for your employer on employing family members and voluntary staff from Business Link Opens new window

Useful contacts

• Home and community contacts