As of November 30, 2013, this wiki is on hiatus; it will not be updated while on hiatus.
For more information, contact: jrc-ipts-is-NEWS@ec.europa.eu

Legal status and regulations regarding volunteers in Europe:


The legal status of volunteers in the UK, from National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO):
"There is currently no legislation specifically covering volunteer workers. Neither is there any legal definition of what a voluntary worker is."

‘Job substitution or volunteer substitution?’ Alan Strickland (Volunteering England) and Nick Ockenden (Institute for Volunteering Research) 22 June 2011

Legal Framework of Volunteers in Europe, by country. Produced as part of the European Year of Volunteering 2011

Global Trends in NGO Law , The Legal Framework for Volunteerism (ICNL), 2010

Opinion on the European Commission Communication on EU Policies and Volunteering (EESC), 2012

An article explaining the difference between a "volunteer" and a "voluntary worker" in the UK (for instance, the former cannot be asked to sign a contract or receive any training that isn't directly related to his or her work)

gov.uk official information on volunteer placements, rights and expenses (United Kingdom-specific)

For comparison:

Overview of legal definitions and laws re: volunteers in the USA.


Wiki Contents


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If you are interested in virtual volunteering, not just as it applies to Europe but as it is undertaken worldwide, please see the Virtual Volunteering Wiki, which continues to be updated.

Return to wiki home page.

If you are interested in virtual volunteering, not just as it applies to Europe but as it is undertaken worldwide, please see the Virtual Volunteering Wiki, which continues to be updated.

For more information on how organizations can leverage Internet-mediated volunteering, see:


This wiki is hosted by Jayne Cravens, the author of the paper Internet-mediated volunteering - the impact for Europe and author of this wiki