Volunteer Policy & Volunteer Agreement

A Volunteer Policy for a Sports Club, Group or Organisation

A Volunteer Policy is a framework for a volunteer programme. It will enable sports clubs or organisations to look at the benefits and challenges that come with working with volunteers. It clarifies their role within the organisation and how they can be expected to be treated. It allows a sports club or organisation to bring together all of their policies and procedures around volunteers such as recruitment, reward and retention.

Why have a Volunteer Policy?

A volunteer policy demonstrates a commitment to its volunteers. By showing that a sports club or organisation is committed to volunteers, the volunteers can see the time and effort that has gone into caring for them. A Volunteer Policy also allows consistency. Every volunteer is different but a Volunteer Policy will ensure that all decisions involving volunteers can remain consistent throughout your sports club or organisation. A Volunteer Policy also enables all of your sports club or organisations board members, committee and members understand why your sports club or organisation is involving volunteers. A Volunteer Policy also ensures that all volunteers within your sports club or organisation know exactly where they stand and know how they will be treated. This is especially important when dealing with new volunteers.

How do you go about writing and implementing a Volunteer Policy?

Volunteer Centre Westminster has produced a Volunteer Policy template that your sports club or organisation can work with to ensure your policy covers all of the necessary areas.

To download a volunteer policy please click the link to the right ‘Volunteer Policy Template’.

Westminster Volunteer Centre can also provide dedicated support to your Sport Club, Group or Organisation, to get in contact please access the 'Contact Us' section of this website.

Volunteer Agreements

Volunteer agreements can be used to set out both a sport club’s commitment to its volunteers, and what it hopes for from its volunteers. Such agreements act as a reference point for the volunteers, and a reminder to the sport club that it should meet the standards of good practice that it has set itself. Care must be taken to set out what the organisation will provide and how it will treat the volunteer and what it expects from the volunteer in such a way as to avoid the creation of mutual obligations, which could be regarded in law as creating a contract.

Typically in an agreement a sports club might include the following commitments:

To provide a full induction and any training necessary for the volunteer role.
To provide a named supervisor for the volunteer, with regular supervision meetings.
To treat volunteers in line with its equal opportunities policy.
To reimburse out-of-pocket expenses where there are receipts or similar evidence of cost to the volunteer.
To provide insurance cover for the volunteers.
To implement good health and safety practice.

A volunteer agreement might expect volunteers to:

Follow the letter and spirit of the organisation’s policies and procedures, including equal opportunities, health and safety and confidentiality.
To meet mutually agreed time commitments, or give notice if this is not possible.