Volunteers
[ch 2: page 49]Genuine volunteers are neither employees nor workers, because there is no mutuality of obligation (see page 35). In other words, there is no legal obligation on the volunteer to do work or on the employer to pay for it. A legal contract requires “consideration”, that is, a promise to provide something (usually money) in return for something else (Ajar-Tec Limited v Stack [2012] EWCA Civ 543). In an employment setting, this is usually work in return for wages. The fact that volunteers look and act just like their colleagues, in relation to their skill or experience, the hours they usually work, or the tasks they carry out, will not turn them into employees or workers if they are offering their services on a genuinely voluntary basis.
Volunteers are specifically excluded from National Minimum Wage laws (see Chapter 4). And they are not covered by the employment provisions of the Equality Act 2010 (X (Appellant) v Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau [2012] UKSC 59). See Chapter 7: Volunteers. The May government consulted over whether volunteers should be protected from harassment, including sexual harassment, at work. The consultation closed in October 2019 and the government’s response is awaited.
Genuine volunteers have no statutory protection from detriment for whistleblowing. See Chapter 13: Whistleblowing.