Type of Activity
Please tick any of the following that apply to this opportunity
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VOLUNTEERING WHILE CLAIMING BENEFITS – THE BASIC RULES
• You can volunteer for as many hours as you want, as long as you still meet the conditions to get your benefit or tax credit. The old rule that you could only volunteer for 16 hours a week no longer applies.
• You can generally be refunded for your expenses by the organisation you are volunteering for without it affecting your benefit or credit. For tax credit purposes, any expenses you get for doing voluntary work will usually be disregarded when it comes to working out your income.
If you are getting an income-related benefit, like Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Council Tax Benefit or Housing Benefit, then you must declare any payment, payments in kind, or expenses you receive for doing voluntary work. You will also need to keep all your receipts, to back up your claim.
From A Guide to Volunteering While on Benefits, Department of Work and Pensions
CRIMINAL RECORD BUREAU & INDEPENDENT SAFEGUARDING AUTHORITY CHECKS
Some volunteer opportunities, particularly if you are working with children or vulnerable adults, are subject to Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) and possibly Independent Safeguarding Authority checks. A CRB check is a check with police records on the person carried out by the Criminal Records Bureau. An ISA check is a check against a list held by the ISA on people registered to work with vulnerable people and those barred from working with vulnerable people. All people working with vulnerable people may shortly have to be registered with ISA.
INFORMATION FOR VOLUNTEERS
Please ask Volunteer Centre staff for any further information you need about the issues surrounding volunteering: expenses, insurance, CRB checks, references, volunteering while on benefits, equal opportunities, health and safety, training, confidentiality, volunteers and the law, volunteers’ rights and responsibilities, roles of trustees … whatever you want to know, we are here to help.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES MONITORING
The Volunteer Centre is committed to equal opportunities. We welcome applications from people regardless of age, sex, marital status, class, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, employment status, health status, political belief, unrelated criminal conviction, disability or caring responsibility. The following information will be used for statistical purposes, to enable us to monitor and evaluate the service we provide. |
