This template is based on the Volunteer Agreement proposed by Volunteer England as at July 2010. It may be worth checking there are no significant changes to this when drawing up a new agreement. It is very important to use wording which could not be interpreted as leading to a contract of employment. This includes: don’t use legalese; don’t imply any material reward to the volunteer (this includes not offering training unless it is directly needed by them in this volunteer role).
Volunteer Agreement for VOLUNTEER
This Volunteer Agreement describes the arrangement between Access-Ability Communications Technology (AACT) and you. We wish to assure you of our appreciation of your volunteering with us and will do the best we can to make your volunteer experience with us enjoyable and rewarding.
The organisation
Your role as a volunteer is as a position. It starts on date. (It may be helpful to the volunteer to mention a possible end date if this is a fixed-term project role, but Volunteer England does not recommend stating fixed times, so consider this and possibly discuss with the volunteer to help them plan their time). Your main Contact will be name.
The volunteering role described here is designed to help AACT in its current situation as a small, largely voluntary organisation realise one of its immediate objectives. This objective is to …….
You can expect AACT to
1. Induction and training
- outline AACT’s mission and ways of working
- provide relevant documentation, ….
2. Supervision, support and flexibility
- organise meeting and working alongside main Contact to help….
- be flexible in agreeing when you and main Contact will work together. Possibly outline here any constraints or things we are aware of which we’ll take into account
- be clear about what tasks we’d like you to do
- make you aware of the insurance cover available while undertaking the voluntary role
- make you aware of relevant Health and Safety policies.
3. Expenses
- pay, if you wish, your travel expenses to get from your home (state here where you understand this to be at the time) to us at the standard rail/bus fare rates if you provide us with suitable documentation including receipts showing the actual expense you incurred.
AACT expects you to
- help it fulfil its aims by acting as a volunteer
- perform your volunteering role to the best of your ability
- follow the relevant area Health and Safety policies while in AACT’s office and elsewhere on University of Reading property. Should it be necessary to undertake the role elsewhere, main Contact must make any relevant Health and Safety policies clear.
- maintain the confidential information of the organisation and of its clients (if there are special conditions, for example the volunteer will have access to sensitive personal date, then refer to the Information Policy to judge whether a confidentiality agreement may need to be signed)
- meet the time commitments and standards which have been mutually agreed to and to give reasonable notice so other arrangements can be made when this is not possible
- make yourself familiar with our Volunteer Policy (available on our website) and raise any issues you feel unsure about with main Contact.
This agreement is binding in honour only, is not intended to be a legally binding contract between us and may be cancelled at any time at the discretion of either party. Neither of us intends any employment relationship to be created either now or at any time in the future.
Schedule of work to be undertaken
The main objective is to (make this and any secondary objectives as clear as possible).
Your role is to
- list tasks as explicitly as possible, but leave room for them to alter as time goes on or the project progresses
Currently your normal place of volunteering is expected to be main place (if there is one). Outline possible variations to this.
