20.1 million people in the UK volunteered between 2017 and 2018.
Tracey Guest: Government proposals could lead to charities facing employment tribunal claims from volunteers
Tags: volunteer
International Day of Charity: Almost two thirds of UK employees cannot take CSR days off
London employees receive more CSR days than any other UK region.
Bosses should promote employees who have done the most volunteering
Bosses should award promotions or pay rises to employees who have done the most volunteering, according to a new Demos report. The think tank argues that in-house volunteering programmes are a ‘triple win’, boosting employees’ skills and job satisfaction, reducing sky-high training costs for businesses and benefiting the local community. The scheme could see employees…
Volunteers do not have same legal rights as staff
The Supreme Court has ruled that laws to protect workers from discrimination do not cover volunteers unless they have a contract, or are undergoing vocational training. A Citizens Advice Bureau volunteer, who tried to take her legal claim for the same employment rights as an employee all the way to Europe, has been stopped by…
Council staff to be offered voluntary severance packages
Up to 900 jobs could be cut at Manchester City Council as the authority attempts to make savings of approximately £80m over the next two years. Having had its budget cut by £170m since its Government funding was reduced last year, 2,000 posts having already been lost through budget cuts in Manchester. It has been…
Internships can cause more harm that good for graduates
In recent times, unpaid internships have become commonplace, particularly in highly competitive industries such as fashion, media and PR. With so many talented graduates entering the marketplace, competition for entry-level roles is at an extremely high level and therefore the promise of experience, especially in ‘trendy’ industries is often enough to entice individuals to work…
Young people’s employment prospects improved by volunteering
Volunteering helps young people develop the skills and confidence that improve their chances of getting a job, new research by the Institute for Employment Studies shows. The study found that volunteering is particularly successful in helping vulnerable and low-skilled young people to re-engage with learning and in raising their personal and career ambitions. The ‘Volunteering:…
Eversheds gives a little back to local communities
International law firm Eversheds is participating in its third annual Give & Gain Day 2011, the UK’s only national day of employee volunteering managed by Business in the Community (BITC). Sponsored by Eversheds, together with HP and Lloyds Banking Group, Give & Gain Day 2011 is dedicated to getting thousands of employees out of the…
Coventry NHS trust experiences volunteer boost
The NHS is enjoying a boom in volunteer support as people seek to improve their employability skills and job prospects in the downturn, according to one health service trust that has seen volunteer numbers double. The University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) said it now has 850 unpaid individuals assisting in its two…
Cameron reviews ‘Big Society’ fund to boost voluntary work
In a speech from Milton Keynes today, Prime Minister David Cameron has announced several initiatives in relation to the Government’s Big Society project including £40m in support to encourage greater voluntary work participation. The idea of the Big Society project is to make communities stronger by getting more people to work together to run their…
Millions of volunteers would happily help run public sector services
A ‘volunteer army’ of 14.7m people is available to help councils run frontline services and protect them from budget cuts, according to research by the infrastructure support services specialist May Gurney. The study is said to offer reassurance to the government that people are engaging with David Cameron’s, Big Society agenda. The May Gurney study…
Volunteers failed by equality regulations
An appeal court ruling which denies volunteer workers the anti-discrimination employment protection enjoyed by staff has been described as unfair by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. In a landmark judgment, the court of appeal ruled against a woman who claimed she had been discriminated against on grounds of disability, after she was told to…