Could a volunteer be deemed a 'worker'?

It can be difficult to determine the true status of volunteers and organisations can unwittingly be treating their volunteers as workers meaning that, should the status ever be challenged, the individuals would be entitled to paid annual leave and the National Minimum Wage for the hours worked - a cost unlikely to have been budgeted for!

This is what happened in the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Groom v Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

The Claimant was a Coastal Rescue Officer for the Respondent. He worked under a volunteer agreement. He carried-out some activities for no payment. He was entitled to be paid for many other activities – if he submitted a claim for payment. The Claimant was dismissed by the Respondent. He brought a claim in relation to the right to be accompanied at a disciplinary hearing. Only employees and workers have this right. To be classified as a worker, the Claimant had to show that he had a contract with the Respondent under which he undertook to perform services personally.

The tribunal held that the Claimant was not a worker as, on reviewing the relationship, no contract existed between the Claimant and the Respondent when he attended an activity. 

The Claimant appealed. The EAT substituted a finding that the Claimant was a worker during the periods when he was undertaking an activity with promised payment. A contract clearly came into effect each time the Claimant carried-out an activity with the promise of remuneration. It was irrelevant that payment was not made automatically and that many volunteers chose not to make a claim for the payment. The EAT held - "When a Coastal Rescue Officer attends a relevant activity, they have a right to remuneration. They attend in the context of a Code of Conduct which sets out minimum levels of attendance at training and incidents. …There is no reason why those factors should not give rise to a contract."

The question of whether a contract existed when the Claimant carried-out unpaid activities was remitted. 

Source: Daniel Barnett

If you need support ensuring that your volunteers are genuinely that, or on employment status generally (including drafting contracts and policies), please contact our team on hello@starfordlegalhr.com