Volunteers gardening in forest risk management

Volunteers

Voluntary organisation’s individual volunteers have a duty of care to each other and others who may be affected by their activities. This brings with it risks to your organisation which you should attempt to manage.

Risk management of volunteers:

  • When something goes wrong, individuals in some cases may sue you for damages as a result of another person’s (e.g. volunteers) negligence.
  • The individual must show that the defendant had a duty of care to take reasonable care towards them and that they have suffered an injury as a result of a breach of that duty and the injury that occurred was foreseeable.
  • The main statutory legislation that might apply is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The act sets out a number of duties on employers, in order to protect their employees and volunteers, meaning they should provide them with relevant information, training, or personal protective equipment when they are working or volunteering for the organisation.

What else might you be interested in?

Work equipment

Frequently, a range of machinery, hand tools and other equipment is used at many premises.

Working at height

The way you manage work or access at height needs to be proportionate to your particular circumstances.

Young people

Young people are an important part of any community, and their participation is actively encouraged.