Volunteer Agreement

Our Volunteer Team is essential for Hospice at Home and enables us to not only raise vital funds but also important awareness so the Charity can carry out our mission ‘to enhance quality of life for adults, their families and carers in our area, through skilled and compassionate care and support at home and in their community’.

Hospice at Home truly appreciates the various skills and time each Volunteer is able to give and recognises this immense contribution our Volunteers make to the Charity, without this continued support and the important funds that volunteers raise we would not be able to provide free care and support to patients and families in the home.

This is an agreement between you and Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland (Hospice at Home, we, us). You have offered to provide assistance to Hospice at Home in the form of voluntary, unpaid work. The purpose of this document is to describe the way in which the arrangements for, and in relation to, that assistance will be undertaken.

Introduction

Status of the agreement

What you can expect from us

Hospice at Home will:
• Make the best use of whatever time you can afford to give
• Treat you as an individual and with respect, valuing your contribution and seeking and listening to your views and opinions
• Provide you with appropriate training, support and encouragement
• Provide you with a safe and healthy working environment
• Provide insurance to cover you while you are fulfilling authorised volunteer work
• Keep you informed you about the work of the charity
• You are comfortable with saying ‘no’ to any tasks that you do not want to undertake (ensure you are able to discuss openly any tasks that you may have concerns or queries with)
• Provide you with a description of your volunteering duties which will be discussed and agreed with your line manager

What Hospice at Home expects from you

As a volunteer for Hospice at Home we require that:
• You treat everyone respectfully and politely
• You are open and honest
• You represent the charity to the required standard
• You undertake any necessary training appropriate to your volunteering role
• You let us know with as much notice as possible if you are unable to meet an agreed volunteering commitment
• You read and follow Hospice at Home’s policies and procedures
• You raise any concerns appropriately and in a timely manner directly with your line manager
• You follow our Vision, Mission and Core Values at all times

Vision: Hospice at Home will positively influence a future in which everyone within our community facing a life limiting illness, regardless of cause, receives the best possible palliative and end of life care, and their families and carers receive the support they need.

Mission: To enhance quality of life for adults, their families and carers in our area, through skilled and compassionate care and support at home and in their community.

Core Values:

• Trust We will build trust and confidence by being approachable, dependable and responsive to individual need.
• Professional We will be open, honest, reliable and fair accepting responsibility for our actions and being accountable for them.
• Caring We will always be kind and caring towards others. Our care and support will be holistic and will always put the patient first.
• Compassion We will accept the thoughts, values, beliefs and choices of others without judgement, responding with empathy and the offer of support wherever possible.
• Respect We will be courteous and actively listen to what is said. We will maintain privacy and dignity at all times.
• Resourceful We will use our resources and funds carefully to ensure we deliver quality, palliative and end of life care for patients whilst also supporting family members and carers.

Representing the Organisation

Hospice at Home volunteers are our ambassadors in the community and it is important to always present a positive image to the public.
• Volunteers should always request approval for any action or statement which may significantly affect or obligate the organisation

• Volunteers should not make official statements to the press unless specifically requested to do so. This includes how you conduct yourself on social media channels.
• Volunteers should seek guidance and agreement from your line manager before making an approach to any company or organisation for sponsorship or for goods or services.

References and DBS Checks

Prior to commencing your volunteering role, we will need to take up two references depending on role, and you will therefore be asked to provide the details of appropriate referees.
Depending on the nature of your volunteering role, we may also require you to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. This will be done prior to you commencing your volunteering role and at periodic intervals during your time with us.

Training

Supervision

Hours and Locations of assistance

Welfare

Hours

Reimbursement of expenses

Ideas and Concerns

You may have ideas for the better performance of your duties or of ways in which we can meet our objectives as an organisation. Please discuss these with your line manager.
You may run into problems when performing your duties. You should discuss any complaint or problems with your line manager.
Your line manager will discuss with you any issues that he/she may have with your work. In the unlikely event that such issues cannot be addressed to the satisfaction of Hospice at Home, we reserve the right to terminate this volunteer agreement with you.
The ability for you to raise a concern is an important way to maintain a healthy volunteering relationship. However, the process of speaking up can be worrying. Hospice at Home has appointed an independent Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Guardian, who is available to provide advice on raising a concern, should you need it. Our FTSU Guardian is:

Melanie Taylor
Tel: 07903 397510
Email: melanie@mtaylorassociates.co.uk

Equality and diversity

Hospice at Home is committed to ensuring, within the framework of the law, that its workplaces are free from unlawful and/or unfair discrimination on the grounds of gender, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, religion or beliefs, marital status, age and physical or mental disability.
Hospice at Home values diversity and is committed to promoting it within the workplace by seeking to ensure that all individuals are treated fairly, with dignity and respect, and by recognising and encouraging individual contribution within the organisation.
Hospice at Home will therefore administer all aspects of this Volunteer Agreement with those principles in mind.

Termination of the volunteer agreement

Hospice at Home or you may terminate this Volunteer Agreement with immediate effect at any time.
You are free to leave Hospice at Home at any time although a period of notice is appreciated. In the event that a volunteer role is no longer required within the organisation, every effort will be made to give reasonable notice of this. Hospice at Home maintains the right to discontinue a Volunteer Agreement with or without advance notice or cause.
Upon termination of this agreement, you will return any clothing, ID or other equipment of any description that has been provided by Hospice at Home to you for use during your period of volunteering

Volunteer Declaration

As a volunteer I understand that a condition of my involvement with Hospice at Home is that I do not disclose or divulge verbally, in writing or by any other media, any information which I may acquire in the course of, or for the purposes of, my position. This relates to disclosure to any individual, firm, company, authority, agency or other organisation, and applies now or in the future (including such time as I may no longer be involved with Hospice at Home).

In signing this declaration, I agree to abide by the relevant policies and procedures at all times.

I also understand and agree to maintain confidentiality in respect of all information gained during the course of my duties, whether received verbally, in writing or any other media format. This applies now or in the future.

I further declare that I have been informed and clearly understand that the communication of any information acquired as a result of my involvement with Hospice at Home, to any unauthorised person(s) may be an offence in law. Such communication may be considered as a breach of the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 and potentially an offence under these legislations. Furthermore, such communication may also be an offence under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and, the Human Rights Act 1998.

I also acknowledge that any breach of confidentiality, the policies and procedures, or any such infringement within this agreement may result in the cessation or termination of my access to the offices or location and may result in additional action.

Volunteer Agreement

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I have read and agreed to the Volunteer Agreement

On behalf of Hospice at Home, may we thank you for your support and for completing the volunteer agreement form.

If you would like to discuss further, please contact Faye Grainger on faye@hospiceathome.co.uk

Volunteering Opportunities

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