Shaftesbury Refugee Group
Volunteering Policy and Guidance
Part One: Being a Volunteer
Volunteers are an invaluable part of our work and their time and skills are appreciated by everyone involved in the settlement of displaced people.
Expectations
Volunteers can expect from Shaftesbury Refugee Group:
A clear role description.
Support from a named trustee
Support to meet the enhanced DBS check for free
Relevant and up to date information and advice.
Access to support and training.
Adequate public liability insurance and employers liability insurance whilst undertaking authorised voluntary work.
To be treated with respect, consideration and appreciation.
The reimbursement of expenses, that have been approved by Shaftesbury Refugee Group
In return we ask volunteers:
To provide the information required for an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check,
To be a positive representative of our valued work
To become aware of our policies and codes of conduct and act within them
To follow this guidance
To consistently promote the independence and integration of the families.
To act in a professional way when carrying out the volunteer role.
To act in a way that does not discriminate against or exclude anyone, and to treat people with respect, consideration and appreciation.
To discuss any concerns or issues directly with your named trustee
Volunteer Roles
English Conversation volunteers
Befrienders
Interpreters and translators
Assistants to the charity
English Conversation volunteers work with the adult members of the refugee families to support their English Learning. The learning takes place in neutral venues and may progress to the families’ homes.
Befrienders provide support to families/individuals, especially during the first few months after arrival in Dorset, to help them become independent, and integrate into their new communities. This may include support for transport
Interpreters and translators will assist in the translation of mother tongue language into English and vice versa either verbally or in writing.
Assistants will provide other services such as support at events and administrative duties
Boundaries
Volunteers help the families with integration into their new community, whether that be through befriending or supporting English learning. The aim of the role is to enable independence and not create dependency. It is therefore important that the adult family members are always treated as having their own autonomy, and that this autonomy is respected at all times.
Boundaries set the parameter of what a volunteer should/should not be doing and protect both the volunteer and the families from misunderstandings that can lead to ill feelings. They also clarify the difference between being a volunteer and a friend and provide consistency across all the volunteers which helps to manage the families’ expectations of the volunteers supporting our work.
In your role as a volunteer, please do:
Think about and recognise your own personal boundaries, do not do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
Think before you say “yes”.
Treat information about the family or other volunteers in the same way that you would like your own information to be treated.
Ask the family if they have already contacted someone when they raise an issue with you. If so, ask the family to refer to that person for follow up or clarification.
Encourage the family to refer all benefit, housing, legal or financial queries that come up to a caseworker, to Citizen’s Advice or the relevant agency.
Show the families how to do things for themselves rather than do it for them.
Encourage the family to find solutions and show them how to access appropriate services.
Remember that you are not responsible for the family’s wellbeing or progress.
Respect the family’s autonomy and understand they may not wish to follow others’ suggestions.
Rely on Shaftesbury Refugee Group for support and advice.
In your role as a Volunteer, please don’t:
Become emotionally over-involved.
Give any form of immigration, housing, financial, legal or benefits advice.
Lend or give money to, or pay bills for, the family, or lend them goods of substantial value.
Do jobs that require professional training and insurance cover (e.g. electrics, plumbing)
Do anything that could put you at risk of physical injury.
Look after the family’s children, or be left alone with them,
Become involved in family disputes or personal affairs.
Share information about the family with people or on your social media.
Enforce your own religious or political opinions.
Please do not do any of the following without seeking advice from a trustee of Shaftesbury Refugee Group
Accompany a family member to a Job Centre Appointment
Go to medical appointments with a family member
Give a family member a lift
Give money to a family member, although the giving of small non-monetary gifts is acceptable.
Accept any gifts that make you feel uncomfortable
Invite the family into your home
Lift-giving
Volunteers should not offer lifts to a family unless this has been agreed specifically with a trustee contact. They will need to see your insurance policy and licence, and you will need to have informed your insurer that you are using your car for volunteer purposes.
Expenses
All potential expenses must be agreed with the supporting trustee before they are claimed, and, when a claim is made, receipts provided. Our expenses policy is here.
Safeguarding
Shaftesbury Refugee Group has a duty to safeguard the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and as one of our volunteers we ask you to be alert when it comes to potential safeguarding issues. Our policy is here. Our Safeguarding Lead is the chair of the charity.
If you see or hear anything that concerns you, then please speak to your Trustee contact or Dorset Council. The Trustee will inform safeguarding professionals, who will take things from there. It is not your responsibility to enquire about or investigate a situation of concern. If you think that anyone is at immediate risk of harm then please phone 999 immediately it is safe for you to do so and inform the Trustee or Dorset Council as soon as possible.
Your safety is important. If at any time you do not feel safe or you feel uncomfortable in a families’ home, you should leave immediately and contact the Trustee. Never ignore your gut instincts or place yourself in danger. If an individual connected with Shaftesbury Refugee Group is abusive or offensive, then please report this to the Trustee as soon as possible.
Please always let someone know where you are when you are volunteering, and when you are likely to return home.
Confidentiality and Personal Data
Confidential information is information of a confidential nature that is not meant for public or general knowledge and which someone would not wish to be disclosed to third parties. All personal data relating to a family member such as contact details, details relating to religion and ethnicity and medical information must be treated as confidential information. Our personal data and privacy policy is here.
You must not disclose any information about the families or family members that you are visiting to anyone other than the Trustee contact. Information should only be shared in these circumstances on a “need to know basis” i.e. if it is necessary for the performance of your role or the wellbeing of the family to share the information. If a family member asks you to keep something in confidence, please insist that anything they tell you which may cause you concern will have to be referred to the Trustee.
You also have a duty to keep any information about individuals we support secure. If personal information relating to individuals connected with our group is stored on your mobile phone, or your laptop then please ensure this is secure, for example that your phone has a PIN or password. If you are sharing information with fellow volunteers via a group on your mobile phone then please ensure that you only share information to the group that all the group needs to know in order to carry out their role. If it is more appropriate that the information is shared with a smaller number of people, then please do not share the information to the whole group. When sharing information always remember to treat information about other people in the same way that you would like information about you to be treated, and always store the minimum amount of data required to carry out your role.
Data Protection
Shaftesbury Refugee Group processes volunteers’ personal data in accordance with current data protection legislation. When you register as a Volunteer withShaftesbury Refugee Group you are subject to our Personal data and privacy policies. Our policies can be found here.
Complaints
Although dealing with complaints can be difficult, it gives an opportunity to improve the way we do things and provide a better service. Our complaints policy can be found here.
If you are dissatisfied with anything about our work, in the first instance please discuss it with the Trustee. If the matter is not resolved at that point to your satisfaction, then you can raise it with the Chair of our charity.
Declaration
I understand and agree to abide by the contents of this Volunteer Guidance, and I accept and understand the privacy policy as set out (Data Protection) above.
Signed:
Name:
Date:
Please note that this arrangement is not intended to be a contract of employment.
Part two: Confidentiality Agreement
Shaftesbury Refugee Group has a legal duty to protect personal data and confidential information which volunteers may handle as part of their volunteer role. This legal duty is to ensure compliance with UK privacy legislation including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR regulations 2020. To this end we ask our volunteers to read carefully and sign this Confidentiality Agreement. This is to ensure that you are clear that information you come into contact with during the course of your volunteering role must be kept confidential and not used or forwarded to any external parties.
As a volunteer you may have access to confidential information including personal information about Trustees, displaced people, other volunteers, Dorset Council in order to carry out your volunteering role.
Shaftesbury Refugee Group has to protect the rights and interests of all the individuals connected with its work Volunteers must handle Confidential Information correctly and with due care. This means that when handling Confidential Information due care is taken to prevent the misuse of Confidential Information or its wrongful disclosure or loss. This due care applies to information held in paper format or on a computer or on a mobile phone.
You are required as part of your your work as a volunteer with Shaftesbury Refugee Group to:
Treat as confidential all information and personal data relating to the families that you receive as a volunteer and you will handle Confidential Information with due care.
Only use the Confidential Information in the proper execution of your volunteering role.
Only pass the Confidential Information to persons connected with Shaftesbury Refugee Group and/or Dorset Council who have a proper need to know.
Not, under any circumstances, disclose or use the Confidential Information outside of your role of volunteer or for your own personal use.
Delete and remove any Confidential Information you have if you cease to be a volunteer, including the contact details for the families.
Please take care not to store Confidential Information for longer than is needed.
Shaftesbury Refugee Group could face heavy fines if Confidential Information is used or communicated in an inappropriate way and we must demonstrate that we have communicated to you that you must not use Confidential Information inappropriately.
I have read and understood the above Confidentiality Agreement and agree to comply with the requirements and actions set out above.
Signed:
Name:
Date: