Can Employers Conduct a Right to Work Check on Volunteers?

This guide explains what employers should do when conducting right-to-work checks for volunteers in order to prevent illegal work in the UK.

Can Employers Conduct a Right to Work Check on Volunteers?

As long as the definition is met, there is no need to carry out checks on the right to work of volunteers, as long as the activity does not last more than 30 days in a period. This guide explains what employers should do to prevent illegal work in the UK, checking people's right to work before hiring them to ensure they are allowed to work. You don't have a volunteer employment contract, so you don't have the same rights as an employee or worker. If their student visa entitles them to work with restrictions, then they can volunteer.

However, if there is a limit to the number of hours they can work, the time spent on “volunteer work” will count towards the total number of hours, while the time spent “volunteering” will not. Every year, NHS doctors and nurses volunteer to help. I think it's about volunteering, not about volunteer work (they don't get paid or have obligations) that most of these professionals do about 3 days a year. Sometimes they receive expenses paid (e.g.

on-site parking with charge), but most don't. Volunteer leaders must do all necessary checks before hiring volunteers who may have restrictions on what they are allowed to do. The content of the guidelines is practically the same and, more importantly, there are no changes to the general process that employers must follow when carrying out right-to-work checks, nor are there any changes to the documents that employers can accept as proof of the right to work in the UK. It was updated to provide more guidance to employers on the right to work controls of EEA and Swiss citizens during the grace period (January 1 to June 30, 2020).

However, if in doubt as to whether a specific opportunity constitutes hiring as an employee or worker or volunteering, organizations should seek independent legal advice before hiring volunteers who are asylum seekers and who are not allowed to work. Before hiring a student, ask them to complete the employment declaration form for students to check if they are working for another employer and if their visa allows them to work full time outside the academic period. If a person is a volunteer and not a volunteer worker, you don't need to prove their right to work in the UK. The updated guide includes information on the right to work controls for citizens of the EEA and Switzerland during the grace period (January 1 to June 30, 2020).

The Right to Work Check is a Home Office process that states that every employee or casual worker has the right to work in the UK before starting work. If there is any way to make it look like the volunteer has a contract, you should check their right to work in the United Kingdom.