Despite recent changes to Government policy, volunteers receiving benefits or Job Seekers Allowance continue to report being told by frontline Employment Service and Benefits Agency officers that their benefits are at risk of being cut if they get involved in volunteering. We are seeking to work with the Benefits Agency and Employment Service on training their managers and staff in the new Government policies encouraging volunteering, and how to advise claimants interested in voluntary work. We have had useful discussions with the Employment Service, but so far made little progress with the Benefits Agency. They just did not have enough time to remain involved. Other volunteer-involving organisations are reporting similar pressures.
Some employers already support employee-volunteering schemes.
These generally allow employees time off for volunteer work. For other volunteering, however, recognition of the case for time off is less widespread. However, few voluntary organisations are able to do so. The seniority to arrange one's own diary to accommodate voluntary committee meetings and similar commitments may, we suggest, be a major factor in the greater incidence of volunteering among the secure and well-off. People in lower-paid jobs are more likely to be constrained to inflexible paid work hours.