The rights of volunteers

The Rights of Volunteers

From the National Standards for involving volunteers in Not For Profit organisations (Volunteering Australia 2001, page 63)

"Unlike paid staff, volunteers are not covered by award conditions or workplace agreements. Volunteers, however, do have rights some of which are enshrined in legislation and some of which are the moral obligations of an organisation involving volunteers."

Volunteers have a right…

	Choose these headings from the menu to the left ...
To work in a healthy and safe environment	See Health & Safety
To be interviewed and employed in accordance with equal opportunity and anti discrimination legislation	See Recruitment
To be adequately covered by insurance	See Insurance
To be given adequate and truthful information about the organisation for which they are working	See Recruitment
To be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses incurred on behalf of the organisation for which they are working. If your organisation cannot provide reimbursement, volunteers have a right to know this beforehand	See Recruitment (Volunteer Job Descriptions)
To be given a copy of the organisation's volunteer policy and any other policy that affects their work	See Planning
To not fill a position previously held by a paid worker	See Recruitment (Volunteer Job Descriptions) and Resources (People Resources)
To not do the work of paid staff during industrial disputes
To have a job description and agreed working hours	See Recruitment (Volunteer Job Descriptions)
To have access to a grievance procedure	See Recruitment (Handling Volunteer Grievances)
To be provided with orientation to the organisation	See Recruitment (Selection & Induction Interviews)
To have their confidential and personal information dealt with in accordance with the principles of the Privacy Act 1988	See Administration (Confidentiality of personal information)
To be provided with sufficient training to do their job	See Training

The Volunteer Coordinators Network (Natural Areas) Manual © 2004