LHA Volunteer Agreement

Thank you for indicating that you would like to become a volunteer at LHA London Ltd
(LHA).

The purpose of this letter is to set out our mutual hopes and expectations in relation to
the services that you are going to provide on a voluntary basis. Please also see the
attached volunteer role description for more information about the duties.

Accommodation

As a volunteer you will be offered accommodation at one of the LHA hostels. This is to
enable you to better carry out your volunteering. Please note your accommodation
may not necessarily be situated at the house where your duties apply.

You will be asked to enter into an agreement with LHA regarding the provision of
accommodation. If you take a break from volunteering, you may be asked to vacate
your accommodation if there is a need to house other volunteers.
:
Attendance

We would usually hope that you will stay with us for a minimum period of 6 weeks (30
days) volunteering, the maximum stay is 2 years. We would obviously like to agree
with you, with as much notice as possible, the hours that you are going to be available
to volunteer. Each week you will be issued with the rota for that week. If you are
unable to attend any shift that you have said that you will undertake or against which
your name appears on the rota, we would ask you to give us as much notice as
possible. Likewise, we would ask that you give us as much notice of times when you
will not be able to attend. Please note that if you intend to take breaks from volunteer
duties (for whatever period or reason) this may result in the end of your current
volunteer agreement. However, subject to consultation with your House Manager, at
certain times a continuation of your current volunteer agreement may be possible. This
will enable the organisation to fulfil its commitment to service users.

Should you decide to discontinue volunteering, we ask you to give us as much notice
as possible.

Confidentiality

It is of crucial importance that you appreciate that information concerning hostel

customers and the hostel team must remain confidential. If you believe that there is a
breach of confidentiality, you are asked to let a manager know as soon as possible. In
order to ensure this confidentiality, it is important that volunteers maintain professional
boundaries between themselves and the hostel customers. Audio or visual recordings
of others in the hostel without their permission are strictly prohibited.

Support / Supervision / Training

LHA will hope to provide you with sufficient support and supervision to enable you to
maximise your voluntary contribution. It is important that if you feel that support is
insufficient, you let the organisation know.

As far as assessing and maintaining acceptable standards, the organisation operates

a scheme of regular assessment and you will be asked to take part in this. The
assessment should identify training and other needs. Please note some of the training
is compulsory, e.g. Fire Awareness, since it is essential to your role.

We understand that we cannot require you to provide services, nor can you require us
to provide you with work, and we both agree that there is no intention between us to
create any legal relations in respect of the voluntary commitment that you are making.
:
If you have any questions about your volunteer role please contact in the first instance
your House Manager, alternatively you can email volunteers@lhalondon.com.

If your contribution, behaviour or attitude is not of a standard that is acceptable to the

organisation, the management will raise this with you. However, if there is no
improvement then we will thank you for the contribution that you have made, but cease
to request that you provide any more volunteering services. There is no disciplinary or
capability procedure that applies to you.

Relationships with Colleagues

As part of maximising your contribution, and your enjoyment, it is important that you
should build relationships with the staff and other volunteers in your hostel in order that
you can share experiences, keep in touch and participate in the development of
policies in the organisation.

If at any time you are concerned or upset by a colleague’s behaviour, or anything that
is happening in the organisation, you should raise the matter with a manager.

The aim of the organisation is to create an environment where people feel able to
express their views and problems and where they can be openly discussed. There is
no formal grievance procedure that is available to you however if you are not happy
with the outcome from the manager you can refer the matter to volunteer support at
the Central Office.

Equal Opportunities and Health and Safety

There are a number of policies that apply to employees working in the organisation as
a matter of contract. No such policies apply to you, but we would expect you, at all
times, to take care to treat everyone equally and ensure that health and safety of all
people is respected and preserved.

Expenses

Our policy is that you will only ever be reimbursed in respect of expenses which you
have actually incurred, and only to the extent that you are ‘out of pocket’.

I would be grateful if you would sign at the bottom of this letter to confirm that you have
read, understood and are happy with the contents of this agreement and the attached
volunteer role description.
:
Yours sincerely,

Pragya Pant

HR Assistant

Copyright © 2023, LHA London Ltd

: