Conscientious Communities: How Volunteering Has Soared During the Pandemic
Despite the odds, the number of individuals volunteering during the pandemic has been growing rapidly. Last month, the government began a campaign urging the British public to help in any way they can towards the vaccination effort. Part of this includes the NHS Volunteer Responder scheme, delivered by the Royal Voluntary Service. These volunteer roles can range from collecting prescriptions or groceries, transporting people to medical appointments and even administering the vaccine.
As a national initiative, this scheme requires the collective efforts of innumerable people. Fortunately, judging by recent statistics, it seems that the public's appetite for volunteering has if anything increased over the course of the pandemic. Even in industries that have been hugely impacted by coronavirus we’ve seen a spike in people offering their time and effort to support those that need it. Workers from the hospitality and taxi trade, in particular, have been organising some incredible initiatives despite being some of the worst affected by the pandemic.
There is however an unfortunate truth behind this increase in volunteering. The series of lockdowns we’ve experienced has caused an exponential increase in the number of volunteers needed for vaccines or otherwise. The NSPCC, amongst others, have been appealing for volunteer counsellors to help combat the burgeoning mental health crisis in young people.
But like we’ve said, it does seem the British public are rising to meet the challenge. So, if you’re interested in volunteering what can you do?
Getting Started as a volunteer
Many volunteering roles in the UK involve what is known as ‘regulated activity’. This mainly includes things like health and social care or children's services, but there can be others. Regulated activity means that the organisation running the volunteering scheme needs to be sure you’re safe for the role. In these instances, you’ll need a DBS Check.
A DBS Check is a criminal record check processed by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) on behalf of UK organisations. These checks help employers to screen recruits who would be inappropriate, or even dangerous, in certain roles.
A Volunteer DBS Check is essentially the same check as the Enhanced DBS Check. This level of check reveals the entirety of someone’s criminal record history and also includes an optional search of either the Adults or Children's Barred Lists (or both). This allows organisations to assess whether people are fit for certain roles.
As Volunteer DBS Checks are issued to people volunteering their free time, they are charged at a significantly reduced rate (£18.50). The other key difference between the Volunteer DBS and the Enhanced DBS is who can have them.
The DBS definition of a Volunteer
It may seem straightforward determining what a volunteer is, but in our experience, it can cause confusion. This is in some part due to the very specific definition of a volunteer given by the DBS. You can see the full DBS definition below:
“The DBS definition of a volunteer is defined in the Police Act 1997 (criminal records) Regulations 2002 as:
“Any person engaged in an activity which involves spending time, unpaid (except for travel and other approved out-of-pocket expenses), doing something which aims to benefit some third party and not a close relative. To be eligible for a Volunteer DBS Check an individual cannot:
benefit directly from the position for which the DBS application is being submitted
receive any payment (except for travel and other approved out-of-pocket expenses)
be on a work placement
be on a course that requires them to do this job role
be in a trainee position that will lead to a full-time role/qualification”
Anyone meeting the above criteria and is also involved in regulated activity is eligible for a Volunteer DBS Check. If the volunteer position doesn’t involve regulated activity, we would recommend getting a Basic DBS Check.
The other benefit of the Volunteer DBS Check is that it can be used to sign up for the DBS Update Service free of charge. This service (normally costing £13p.a.) allows you to keep your DBS certificate information updated. This means that volunteers don’t have to carry out a new DBS check every time they volunteer for a role.
For more information about how Personnel Checks can help you construct a compliant background screening process for your volunteers, get in touch! Contact us by email at letstalk@personnelchecks.co.uk or you can call us on 01254 355688.