Policy Guidance and FAQs

Representation: The time you spend volunteering is in a personal capacity - it’s your day of paid leave to use for volunteering. However, if you are volunteering as a group, some people might think you are representing the University. In both cases, University policies relating to dignity and respect should be upheld. 

Insurance and Liability: The University has Public Liability Insurance which covers activities when you are acting in an employee capacity. However, each organisation is responsible for you when you are volunteering with them. 

Notice: While you are entitled to your annual day of paid leave, your manager will have to consider the business needs. Flexibility may be required from all parties. 

Entitlement: If you work for a subsidiary company of the University, you may not be entitled to a day of paid leave for volunteering. Please check your conditions of employment. 

Splitting time: Some volunteering opportunities will require only a short amount of time each week, but over several weeks. Record your activity when you accumulate your contractual daily working hours. 

Sharing leave: Paid leave for a day of volunteering is part of your annual leave allocation and only you are allowed to use it. You cannot gift or receive a colleague’s allocation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is A Day to Make a Difference?  

The University’s A Day to Make a Difference entitles every staff member to an additional day of paid leave to volunteer for a charity, organisation or other good cause. To use your day, you need to request it on People and Money, and your line manager must approve it. Some teams have used their day together and volunteered as a group. For inspiration and ideas, and more information on the policy, please visit the  volunteering pages. 

How do I contact an organisation? 

Nearly all charities and organisations will have a website or social media page. Find contact details there and get in touch. Don’t be afraid to ask what opportunities they have – you aren't committing to anything. 

Policy guidance

Out-of-hours volunteering: The paid leave is only applicable if the volunteering is done during the normal contracted working hours. Evening and weekend volunteering only fits the policy if this is a standard working pattern for you.  This is in line with all other paid leave offered by the University.  

How do I know if they are a certified/legitimate organisation? 

Make sure your communications are clear and you never put yourself at risk. Take time to understand the opportunity and the organisation. You might be able to look them up on the Scottish Charities Register here: https://www.oscr.org.uk/ or on the EVOC Red Book here: https://www.evoc.org.uk/about-evoc/red-book/ 

Are there costs involved? 

If you are volunteering as a group, there may be a fee payable to the organisation, especially if you have decided to do this in your University capacity for a single day. You may not think this is reasonable but having a group in can prevent small organisations from delivering their core activities and generates costs – staff to coordinate and supervise, materials, refreshments. If you are doing the day partly for staff team building, keep in mind the budget you would allocate for other types of team building experiences. 

Do I have to work with an organisation or community?  

Yes. Volunteering is only effective if it is meeting an established need. Activities such as litter-picking in your local area are good citizenship but are not volunteering unless you are doing it on behalf of an organisation. 

Can I volunteer on my child’s parent council/football club/drama group? 

This isn’t in the spirit of the policy. You would personally benefit beyond the benefits of the act of volunteering itself. 

Can someone at the University arrange my day for me? 

No. The University does not wish to complete with specialist organisations already set up for the purpose of facilitating volunteering. The Edinburgh Community Engagement Forum is a good source of informal advice.