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Volunteers
In 2012, the Supreme Court confirmed that genuine volunteers are not protected from discrimination by the employment provisions of the EA 10:
A volunteer agreement signed by a CAB advisor stated that it was “binding in honour only” and “not a contract of employment or legally binding”. When the advisor later brought a claim for disability discrimination, the Supreme Court decided the case could not proceed.
The Court confirmed that to be protected by the employment provisions of the EA 10, someone must be a “worker”. To be a worker, that person must be operating under a binding legal contract. The existence of a wage is highly relevant to (although not always conclusive of) the question whether someone is a worker.
Without a binding legal contract (written or oral) as a worker, there can be no protection from discrimination in the employment tribunal. This is regardless of the hours worked by the volunteer, the control exercised over him or her, their level of expertise, or the extent to which their activities resemble paid work or are performed alongside paid workers.
X v Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau [2012] UKSC 59
Even so there may be situations in which volunteers may be protected by EA 10, in particular:
• A claimant may be able to show that the arrangement is not genuinely voluntary and that in reality, there is a legal contract in place (whether or not in writing) requiring them to work personally (see “Interns” below);
• Volunteers may be protected where they are receiving vocational training or work experience (see section 56(6) EA 10);
• Volunteers may be protected under the “service user” provisions of the EA 10, in relation to goods and services (EA 10 Part 3).