Employers ‘failing to support volunteers’

UK employers are not giving sufficient leeway to staff who wish to devote some of their time to volunteering, according to new research from YouGov and charitable group v.

The study found that six out of ten bosses quizzed admitted there was little HR assistance on offer to workers who wished to offer unpaid assistance elsewhere, with 58 per cent of employees expressing an interest in doing so.

“Volunteering is a fantastic way of enhancing an employee’s wellbeing while adding to the success of the business,” said v chief executive Terry Ryan. “Businesses should really be looking to embrace volunteering.”

A total of 1,500 managers and staff participated in the survey, which found public sector workers were more likely to volunteer – with 66 per cent stating they would consider such an arrangement, as opposed to 56 per cent of private sector employees.

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Yesterday (January 13th), it was announced that v was to lose more than half of its own workforce, with 33 people being made redundant as a result of government spending cuts.

Posted by Hayley Edwards