HP-MOS Volunteer Policy

Volunteers  Policy

These are our detailed policies regarding volunteers at Health Psychology Management Organisation Services. These policies are written to provide overall guidance and direction to volunteers engaged in volunteering/working at our organisation. These policies do not constitute, either implicitly or explicitly, a binding contractual or personnel agreement. The organisation reserves the exclusive right to change any of these policies at any time and to expect adherence to the changed policy. Changes to or exceptions from these policies may only be granted by the Director, in consultation with the chair of the governing body, and would be obtained in advance and in writing.

Definition of ‘Volunteer’ A “volunteer” is anyone who, without compensation or expectation of compensation beyond reimbursement, performs a task at the direction of and on behalf of the Organisation. A “volunteer” must be officially accepted and inducted by the Organisation prior to performance of the task. Unless specifically stated, volunteers shall not be considered as “employees” of the Organisation.

Mandatory Service

Our Organisation also accepts as volunteers those participating in  work experience  enrolled in other related courses, and other volunteer referral programs. In each of these cases, however, a written agreement must be in effect with the organisation, college, university, school or program from whom these volunteers originate, and this agreement must identify responsibility for the management and care of the volunteers.

Service at the Discretion of Health Psychology Management Organisation Services

Our Organisation accepts the service of all volunteers with the understanding that such service is at the sole discretion of the Organisation and there are sufficient places available, at the discretion of the Director. Volunteers agree that the organisation may at any time, for whatever reason, decide to terminate the volunteer’s relationship with the organisation.  The volunteer may at any time, for whatever reason, decide to sever the volunteer’s relationship with the organisation. Notice of such a decision should be communicated as soon as possible to the Director.

Confidentiality

Volunteers are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of all proprietary or privileged information to which they are exposed while serving as a volunteer, whether this information involves a single staff, volunteer, student, or other person or involves overall organisation business. Failure to maintain confidentiality may result in termination of the volunteer’s relationship with the organisation or other corrective action.

Screening/Reference Checks and BDC Checks

For some tasks, volunteers must submit samples of work and professional references. If such is required, it will be outlined in the task description. Prior to beginning work in the organisation all volunteers are required to have DRB check. This will be done by our organisation. All volunteers must fill in the Volunteer application and sign the Volunteer Agreement.

Dismissal of a Volunteer

Volunteers who do not adhere to the rules and procedures of the organisation or who fail to satisfactorily perform their volunteer duties are subject to dismissal. No volunteer will be terminated until the volunteer  has had an opportunity to discuss the reasons for possible dismissal with supervisory staff. Possible grounds for dismissal may include, but are not limited to, the following: gross misconduct or insubordination, theft of property or misuse of school materials, abuse or mistreatment of children, staff or other volunteers, failure to abide by organisation policies and procedures, and failure to satisfactorily perform assigned duties.

References

If a volunteer later requires a reference they should firstly contact the organisation to agree a reference and secondly provide the organisation with a log of the work they undertook in the organisation, signed by the supervising person. Volunteers can request  a log form. General

Information for Volunteers

At Health Psychology Management Organisation Services, we welcome all volunteers such as people with long term physical and mental health conditions, adults from different local community groups and young people from organisations such as colleges and universities. A “volunteer” is anyone who carries out a task on behalf of the Organisation without payment. Before accepting a volunteer we request that an application form is filled in along with a DRB  check forms to be carried out. Once accepted, a volunteer agreement form is completed and signed by the Organisation and the volunteer, which includes details of our commitment to the volunteer and their commitment to the Organisation. If the volunteer is likely to need a reference in the future, we request that he/she completes a log of the activities they have undertaken which should be signed by the supervising staff. Volunteers are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of all information to which they may be exposed. The organisation reserves the right to terminate the volunteer  agreement at any time if deemed necessary, for reasons such as the mistreatment of children, staff or other volunteers; breach of confidentiality; or failure to carry out tasks satisfactorily.