Volunteering Handbook

INTRODUCTION

We hope you will find this Handbook useful.

It aims to answer most of the questions you may have about volunteering with Forest Recycling Project.

Forest Recycling Project (FRP) is a not-for- profit social enterprise that provides innovative recycling services to charities, community groups, volunteer organisations, local businesses and local people. It relies on contributions from all kinds of people to make it successful, particularly you as a volunteer, its paid staff and members of management committee. As a volunteer we value your contribution to develop and deliver our services.

FRP consists of a number of projects:

Green Office Campaign
FRP-REUSE
FRP-REPAINT
Paper Recycling
Give or Take

We are also closely associated with a number of other projects:-

Hornbeam
ELCRP
Organiclea
Others

Other useful and important information is kept in the Volunteer Information Folder. You will be shown where this is kept on the first day. Make sure you have a look through this as well.

If you want more general information about the organisation itself, or have any further questions then please ask Bojana Vojinovic, who is the Volunteer Co-ordinator, any other member of staff or visit our web site www.frponline.org.uk

Our Standards

Our staff will treat you with respect
We will respect your privacy and your right to confidentiality. Private interview facilities are available on request.
We will apologise if we get things wrong, provide an explanation and put things right as quickly as possible
We will not discriminate
We will give you support, information and resources you need to fulfil your tasks
We will hold regular meeting with you to ensure you are gaining satisfaction from your volunteering experience

To maintain this standard you will be expected to

Behave in a considerate and polite manner towards other volunteers and staff. Our staff will not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour
Treat our premises, and any equipment belonging to us or any other person with due consideration

Coming to FRP

Access to sites

The buildings are wheelchair accessible.

FRP aims to enable everyone to volunteer and would like to facilitate involvement by people with a range of needs. If you have any queries, please talk to the Volunteer Coordinator about your individual needs.

Parking

Bakers Avenue Office – free parking is available in the surrounding streets, however some parking is limited to 30 mins.

The Sidings, Units 6&7 – parking spaces are usually available and there is additional parking in surrounding streets.

Expenses

We will cover travel / or lunch expenses of up to £2.50 providing you volunteer for at least 4hrs in any one day.

If you do not have money to buy lunch on a particular day then we can advance you up to the daily allowance from petty cash – please ask.

Expenses for lunch / travel are paid daily and only on production of a receipt.

We do not currently pay for childcare or other caring expenses but are seeking funding for this area.

NB If you incur costs we will pay any out-of-pocket expenses as a result of your volunteering (not including those already mentioned above) so long as they are pre-agreed with the volunteer coordinator/project coordinator and you have a valid receipt.

Receiving Benefits?

As long as you only receive out-of-pocket expenses there should not be a problem with volunteering while on benefits. It is always good practice to keep the Benefits Agency informed if you are volunteering. Please talk to Bojana if you have any concerns.

While you’re in main warehouse / units 6&7 / on the van

Signing in / out

All the volunteers are required to record their presence on the premises for fire, security and monitoring purposes on a daily basis. The time sheets are found at the entrance in the main office / units 6&7. Please make sure that you print full name and surname, record in/out times, number of hours and sign the record.

Hours of work

Most volunteers can and do work on our projects, as and when then can. We do however need to make sure that we have a reasonable number of people each day to run our projects. When you join we will discuss times that fit in with your other commitments and agree an attendance plan.

If you are on a placement you may need to keep the hours prescribed by the organisation you come from. This will be discussed and agreed with you when you join.

If you are just visiting (that is, not attending to work on the project) you should limit the time on site to 30 minutes and it should be after 4pm. We would however ask that you have a word with the project co-ordinator and help with any housekeeping tasks that might need doing (for example, emptying the bins or wash up mugs).

Breaks & refreshments

You can help yourself to tea, coffee & water during the day. There are kitchen facilities on all the sites with a fridge, a toaster and microwave that you are welcome to use. Please wash up your own mugs, plates, etc after use to help us keep the kitchen clean and tidy.

Volunteers are entitled to a have an ½ hour lunch break. There are many shops locally where you can buy food. You can have your lunch in dedicated volunteer areas on all the sites.

Notice board & information

There is a notice board in the volunteer areas that has general information, dates for meetings, notices, job and volunteering opportunities etc.

Staff meetings

Staff meetings take place every fortnight. Details of the dates and times are posted on the notice boards. If you would like to bring something to the attention of the meeting then please discuss it with your project coordinator.

Office outings

Volunteers are welcome to come on staff outings and attend events. Sometimes staff go out to a local pub at the end of the week – we’ll make sure you’re invited if you‘re in that day. We also organise bigger social events and we invite all the volunteers to attend to these.

Use of phone & photocopier

If you need to make an urgent local call while at FRP you can do so. Please speak to any member of staff before using the phone.

You can also use the photocopier if you need to, for a job search or occasionally for personal copies. Please tell the Project Co-ordinator before you do this.

Smoking

FRP offices / warehouses / units / vehicles are ‘no smoking’ zones.

Dress code

FRP staff dress informally and for comfort.

In the warehouses it is important to wear comfortable clothing you do not mind spoiling. In the winter, it can get quite cold so please dress warmly.

Insurance

Individuals who are volunteering or are on work placement with FRP are, like paid staff, covered by employer’s liability insurance while on the premises, and off the premises while on duty on behalf of FRP. The insurance does not cover the loss of property so please do not bring valuables to the sites as we are unable to provide safe storage for volunteers’ personal belongings.

Health & Safety

Brian Kelly is FRP’s Health & Safety Officer. You will be told about the Fire Exits and procedures on your first day in the project, but if you have any queries please talk to Brian or your project co-ordinator.

Protective clothing

Your comfort and safety is important when working on/off the sites.

Protective clothing such as boots, gloves, high visibility jackets and overalls are available.

Gloves - These are required for use when working with paint and during site clearance. They must not be worn when using sharp-edged tools.

Work boots - Comfortable protective footwear should always be worn when undertaking practical work. When moving heavy objects or where there is any danger to the feet, steel toe-capped boots should be worn.

Overalls – These are required to be worn when working with paint to protect your clothing if paint is spilled. It does happen often.

High visibility jackets – These must be worn when on site clearance or paint / paper collection duty so that other drivers can see you.

Hand Washing

Wash your hands before handling food.

Clean water and soap is available at all areas of work.

Good House Keeping

Please keep your working area tidy and debris free. Also please help us keep clean all the communal area on the sites – kitchen, dedicated volunteer areas, pathways.

First Aid

FRP’s First Aid Officer is Brian Kelly and other project co-ordinators. Please contact them if you need assistance or before taking anything from the First Aid box, which is kept in the main office at Baker’s avenue and at designated areas in Units 6&7.

Privacy

FRP respects your privacy and right not to be questioned about your personal circumstances, your disability or prescribed medication that you are taking. You will be asked for some personnel details on your first day in the office (eg emergency contacts) and if there is anything you want to tell us at this time it will be treated confidentially.

Our mutual agreement

Volunteer Agreement

On your first day at FRP we will discuss your arrangement with us, and outline the times you will be coming to volunteer, and what tasks you will be performing. Once this is agreed we will keep it on file and refer to it during your time with us.

Flexibility

We are happy to make an Agreement that allows you more freedom about the hours you come to FRP: please talk to your project coordinator about this.

Trial period

We really hope you enjoy volunteering with us. However in case there are any initial worries, we treat the first three weeks you spend with us as a trial period. At the end of that time we will have a chat and if you want to stop volunteering with us, that’s ok. If you want to clear up some concerns or maybe change some of the tasks you’re doing, that’s also when we can discuss it.

Length of Agreement

Once you’ve decided that you want to stay with us, we can make a joint decision on how long your Agreement will last for. This will depend on the tasks you will be doing, and what you hope to gain from your time with us.

We will also discuss your Volunteer Agreement on a regular basis with you – at least every three months. At this time we will look at what you have been doing recently, and see if there are any other areas of FRP’s work you might want to become involved in. If you or FRP feel you need training to perform any tasks better then we will discuss it at this point.

On-going Support and Training

While you are with us we will help you to complete the tasks you have agreed to perform. This may involve training, which we would identify during selection or induction.

You will be given the name of the staff member(s) who can give you the best day-to-day support for the tasks you are undertaking.

If you are not happy with anything you are doing or being asked to do you should talk to Bojana / Joanna or any member of staff immediately. You will not be asked to do the work of any staff member whose post has been made redundant.

Personal details

All your details are kept securely – either in a locked filing cabinet or in electronic format on our computer. If you want to look at any of the data please ask Bojana.

Reporting absence or sickness

We value your time and rely on you to turn up when you say you will. However we will understand if you can’t come for any reason on a day you agreed to, but please let us know as soon as possible so we don’t worry. If we do not hear from you on the day you were due to volunteer we will give you a call to enquire about your absence.

If we don’t hear from you for two weeks after you were due to come to FRP, we will assume you are no longer interested in volunteering with us and end your Volunteer Agreement. If you want to return to us after this time, please do contact us, but we may have to negotiate a new Agreement.

Problems

FRP wants you to be happy while you are volunteering with us. If you have any problems or concerns while you are volunteering, please talk to your Project Coordinator or Bojana as soon as possible, and we will try to sort them out promptly.

If we think there is a problem with the work you are doing for FRP then we will also try to talk to you as soon as possible.

For further details of how problems will be dealt with, please look at the Grievance Procedure in the Volunteer Information Folder.

Equal Opportunities

Volunteers are expected to comply with FRP’s policies on Equal Opportunities. A copy is kept in the Volunteer Information Folder.

Copyright

The copyright of any documents or work created by individuals who are volunteering or on work placement during their time with FRP will be deemed to belong to the organisation.

Moving on

References

Once you have volunteered with FRP for three months, we will provide a reference if you need one for paid work, study or another voluntary position.

Paid positions within FRP

You are welcome to apply to paid positions within FRP while you are volunteering with us. We advertise most positions in the local networks, but will also bring them to your attention. You will be expected to go through the same selection procedure as other applicants.

Leaving FRP

When you decide to stop volunteering, whatever the reason, we hope you will attend an Exit Interview so we get some feedback about how you have found your time with us, and any suggestions you may have for improving the Volunteer Programme.

And finally…

Any more volunteers out there?

If you know anyone – friends, family, or colleagues – who may be interested in volunteering then we’d love to hear from them!

They can phone Bojana Vojinovic on 0208 539 3856 or she can send out an application form to them if you give her their details. Spread the word!