National Minimum Wage and Voluntary Workers

• when the voluntary worker receives no remuneration except actual out of pocket expenses or a reasonable pre-estimate of expenses, and no benefits in kind other than subsistence or accommodation, or

• when the voluntary worker would meet the criteria above, save for receiving a monetary payment for subsistence, and is provided to do work for a charity/voluntary organisation through arrangements made with another charity/voluntary organisation.

In particular, the Government invited views about whether a specific exemption was needed for voluntary workers provided through ‘v’ and Project Scotland (the schemes developed as part of the Russell Commission’s national framework for youth volunteering).

The conclusion of the Government is that no change needs to be made to Section 44. It is an outcome that is likely to disappoint many charities, as the opportunity has not been taken to address a number of points of practical concern with voluntary workers. For instance, charities are unable to provide onsite childcare to voluntary workers without falling foul of the “no benefits in kind” provision. Equally, charities cannot permit voluntary workers to arrange and pay for their own accommodation (overseas, for example), however much more convenient that would be than the charity having to provide the accommodation itself (unless the voluntary worker has been engaged through a second charity). These are issues that were raised by Bates, Wells & Braithwaite in our response to the consultation.

The Government has promised to prepare new guidance in 2008 which may provide clarification of other points raised in consultation such as whether a charity can provide both subsistence and accommodation to a voluntary worker and still fall within the exemption, and how widely “out of pocket expenses” can be defined. Obviously, however, this will not alter the fundamental principles of how the exemptions operate.

Charities will therefore need to continue to exercise a great deal of care in the arrangements that they enter in to with all volunteers to ensure that they do not inadvertently fall outside the scope of the National Minimum Wage exemptions.

The Government’s response to the consultation will be available later today on http://www.berr.gov.uk/consultations/closedwithresponse/index.html