Are Volunteers Classed as Workers?

The Employment Rights Act 1996 defines a worker as "an individual who has entered into or works under:

a) a contract of employment or

b) any other contract, whether expressed or implied, under which the individual undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services for another party to the contract who is not a client or customer of the individual's business."

But does this definition apply to those who work on a volunteer basis?

This question is central to the case of Groom v Maritime and Coastguard Agency. In this case, the claimant was a volunteer Coastal Rescue Officer, and was subject to a disciplinary hearing. In this hearing, the claimant was not given the right to be accompanied at the hearing.

This right is only afforded to workers and employees, so the task that the employment tribunal was faced with was determining whether Groom counted as a worker. They determined that due to the uniqueness of volunteer relationships, it is not possible for volunteers to be workers in law. However, when this decision was appealed, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) rejected the argument.

The EAT stated that merely describing a contract as voluntary was not enough to prove that it was one. The EAT found that the contract was not voluntary, as the volunteers could make a claim for remuneration, in the form of expenses. The employee received payslips, an end of year P60 and a P45 upon leaving. There was also a Code of Conduct that they needed to abide by, which referred to a "two-way voluntary commitment".

Although volunteers are not classed as workers and therefore are not awarded the same rights, it is important to ensure whether those that are carrying out work for you should actually be considered volunteers or workers. If you are paying them for their time, then they will be considered a worker and should be afforded worker rights accordingly.

For further HR advice or guidance in relation to the topic above, get in touch with the Lansbury HR Consultants. We are here to support businesses nationally and locally in Burton-on-Trent, Swadlincote, and Derby.