The Legal Status of Volunteers
Governance:
Currently, there isn’t any legislation or legal definitions discussing volunteer workers. It is important that organisations be careful of volunteers becoming employees according to the law, it’s important for organisations to clearly differentiate between volunteers and employees.
Volunteers vs. Employees
It’s natural for organisations utilising volunteer services to want to treat them as paid staff because they are so valuable and appreciated, but in written agreements between the volunteer and the organisation, this cannot occur due to the possibility of legal complications. In a number of recent claims, voluntary workers won the right to be considered employees at their organisation and brought a claim against their employers for both discrimination and unfair dismissal.
