This benefit is for eligible employees of Bracknell Forest Council.
We recognise the value of giving back to the community and support employee involvement in volunteering activities.
All permanent employees can take one day’s paid volunteering activity per financial year, or part time equivalent. This is to take part in approved community service or charitable activities during regular working hours.
The volunteering activity must benefit residents of Bracknell Forest and supporting registered charities or nonprofit organisations. Activities can include:
- participating in community improvement projects
- mentoring or supporting underrepresented groups
- green projects and cleaning up local areas
- volunteering at educational or healthcare organisations
- supporting community events such as Bracknell Pride or VE 80th anniversary event
You can find local volunteering opportunities on:
The listings include details of volunteering directly for the council. For example:
- green and active opportunities, including pulling ragwort from fields, rhododendron pulling or tree planting with Parks and Countryside
- army cadet volunteering opportunities to support our bid for gold award status in supporting the armed forces
Eligibility
To be eligible for this scheme you must be:
- a full time or part time permanent employee
- on a fixed term contract of at least one year in length
Casual employees and agency workers are not eligible for the scheme.
Approval process
Employees must submit a request to their manager at least 2 weeks in advance, including:
- name of the organisation they are supporting
- description of the activity
- date(s) and time requested
Once approved, you must log this on iWorks.
Approval is subject to operational needs, conflict with the council’s values or any reputational or legal risk.
Any disputes relating to requests being declined should be referred to the Head of Service.
After your volunteering
After you have carried out your volunteering, you need to:
- get feedback from the organisation you are volunteering for on the impact this has had on them
- write a short write-up on how volunteering has impacted you
These should be emailed to HR.
Conditions
The following conditions apply:
- Volunteering time is considered paid leave and will not impact annual leave entitlements.
- Time must be recorded on timesheets as: Employer Supported Volunteering Scheme (ESV).
- All volunteering days must be requested on iWorks as with any time off and recorded as Other - Employer Supported Volunteering Scheme - this will be monitored to assess use of the scheme and the variety of volunteering opportunities being undertaken (all data will be anonymised before being presented in reports).
- Unused volunteering leave does not carry over to the following year or convert to cash.
- Employees are responsible for their own transportation and any related costs.
- Should the volunteering role require a DBS, this will not be provided by the council and will be the employee’s responsibility to liaise with the organisation with whom they’re volunteering for a resolution (guidance can be provided if required).
- Time spent volunteering does not count towards the Working Time Directive - however, managers should make sure the employee has sufficient rest between ending their volunteering role and starting work (for example, if the volunteering is overnight).
- When volunteering takes place outside regular working hours, equivalent time may be taken off within the same week - this time off will not exceed the length of a standard working day and may be proportionally reduced if the volunteering activity is shorter.
- For the first year of implementation, the scheme relates to future volunteering activities and does not look back retrospectively.
- To maintain political neutrality, the scheme does not endorse or support volunteering activities linked to political organisations.
Responsibilities
Employees are responsible for:
- identifying and organising the volunteering, unless organised by the council as a team event
- following the health and safety requirements of their chosen volunteering activity
- asking about appropriate insurance during their volunteering activity to make sure they are adequately insured
Managers are responsible for reviewing and approving requests in line with operational needs.
HR will track usage and make sure the policy is applied fairly and consistently.
Monitoring and review
This scheme will be reviewed annually. It may be updated in line with business priorities or feedback from employees.