All our volunteers complete a short Induction which involves reading the Volunteer Handbook, having a chat with your Volunteer Support Person, plus any role-specific training as required. You can also listen to this introduction to volunteering with us It's 10 minutes long so put the kettle on!

Your induction will cover:

• An overview of the typical activities undertaken in your role and what’s involved;

• Introducing you to the team (including any relevant staff, other volunteers or people involved);

• Highlighting the importance of health and safety - fire procedures (if applicable), first aid, and measures in place to help prevent the spread of COVID; including the need to report any accidents, incidents or near misses;

• Explaining that all our volunteers are insured while volunteering with us; that volunteer roles are risk assessed, and that we will do what we reasonably can to help keep you safe, but also ask you to take personal responsibility to keep yourself and others safe.

• We’ll answer any questions you might have about our policies and procedures;

• Show you where everything is (if your volunteering is office based) and where you can access information and resources online;

• We’ll also give you practical guidance related to your role (for example, how to use any equipment necessary for your role);

• And we'll ask you if you have any special requirements or support needs in order to carry out your role.

Please ask if you are ever unsure about anything.

You’ll find information about all our policies and procedures in our Volunteer Handbook. Including important information about GDPR / data protection. It is very important to us that we safeguard personal data, that means following rules and guidelines about how data must be collected, handled and stored to meet the organisation’s data protection standards — and to comply with the law. It’s the boring but important stuff, and if you have access to any personal data as part of your volunteering role with us you’ll need to be up to speed with this.

We will provide you with the information and guidance you need. If you are ever in doubt, please ask.

We have a Volunteer Expenses Policy, and will promptly reimburse any agreed expenses you have, such as travel to and from the place you volunteer. Normally we will reimburse the cost of travel at public transport rates, or 20p per mile for cycling. If you need to use a private car we can reimburse mileage expenses, please see our expenses policy for more details (at the back of our Volunteer Handbook). Download our expenses claim form here.

While you’re unlikely to need it, we do have a Complaints Procedure and a Problem Solving Procedure. For most people, volunteering with us is an enjoyable and positive experience and any issues, which arise, can normally be resolved quickly, but if we need them, these policies are there to help guide the action we take in a clear and fair way.

We also have an Equality and Diversity Policy because we are committed to treating all our volunteers and prospective volunteers fairly, with respect and dignity. We aim to provide inclusive volunteering opportunities wherever reasonably possible.

Other helpful documents include our Media Policy, our Personal Safety and Lone Working Policy, and our Social Media Policy.

If you haven’t already, please take a proper look at our Volunteer Handbook, and if you think you are missing any information please speak to your Volunteer Support Person, or Lara, the Community Engagement Manager and we’ll be happy to help.

In terms of support, please speak to your Volunteer Support Person in the first instance, we also offer peer support through our Volunteer meetings, so please take advantage of these opportunities to meet, share and connect with your fellow volunteers.

Our volunteers often tell us that they get so much out of their volunteering, which is very satisfying.

We’d also like to offer more opportunities for learning and development, so get in-touch if you have any ideas or suggestions for training or guest speakers relevant to your role. For example we have offered our volunteers training in food hygiene, domestic abuse awareness, modern slavery awareness, as well as a variety of guest speakers.

We recognise and celebrate the contribution of our volunteers and the impact they make by featuring them in our members’ magazine, newsletters, podcasts, website and social media. We also report on and highlight the impact of our volunteers to our board of trustees, and in our Annual Report.

When volunteers leave us, we invite them to complete a leaving questionnaire giving us feedback, and we can also provide references.

We very much welcome and value the input of our volunteers, and aim to provide opportunities for you to feed into our work, including volunteer meet-ups, surveys and occasional consultations (such as our recent consultation on the branding of our charity), and of course you can always drop Lara an email, pick-up the phone, or pop something into our virtual suggestion box!

Thank you for supporting the work of Humanist Society Scotland!

Accidents, incidents and near misses must be reported

Please contact your named Volunteer Support Person, or the Community Engagement Manager for assistance with this.

Adapting to life with COVID 19

If you have not yet been vaccinated against covid-19 but you would like to be, you can arrange a vaccination through NHS Scotland, and we encourage those eligible to do so.

Please follow the latest coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance from NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government, including protective measures, how to get a test and how to self-isolate.

For useful information and advice produced by Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) and Public Health Scotland, visit the SCDC website. It's based on Scottish Government guidance and best available knowledge about COVID 19. It will be most useful to our local groups, and any of our groups planning in-person meetings.