Volunteers

Genuine volunteers are not protected from discrimination by the employment provisions of the EA 10 (X v Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau [2012] UKSC 59). This is because there is no binding contract personally to do work in exchange for something (usually, although not always, wages). Without a binding legal contract (written or oral), there can be no protection under the EA 10, 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.

Only genuine volunteers are outside the Act’s protection. If an arrangement is not really voluntary, the individual should be protected (See, for example, Migrant Advisory Service v Chaudri [1998] UKEAT/1400/97/2807, and also the law on sham agreements, discussed on page 48).

Some volunteers may be protected against discrimination on the basis of:

• vocational training or work experience (see section 56(6) EA 10); or

• under the “service user” provisions of the EA 10, i.e. as users of services (EA 10 Part 3).