Based on the needs of volunteers, volunteer managers, and legal advisors of National Societies, this Toolkit has as its objective to support National Societies to ensure better protection and management of their volunteers.
Sound volunteer management is critical. An inherent component of volunteer management is an understanding of the applicable legal framework and the potential legal pitfalls for both the institution and the volunteer. The ambition of this toolkit is to set out in general terms what these potential legal issues may be and provide ideas for how they can be best addressed. Of course every national context will be different, but in general as you the reader will see, there are common questions and concerns which range across all juris- dictions. The definition of a volunteer, a volunteer versus an employee, the potential liability of a volunteer, insurance and health and safety obligations, are examples of volunteer management issues which all National Societies must consider.