Reply With QuoteHaving checked the article again, I did get my lines slightly crossed. I will scan it in eventually, but the scanner is part of the printer which is currently throwing a hissy over an empty ink cartridge, and won't even let me scan till it is replaced.Originally Posted by doctordoom
So my sailing club (PCC) which runs a points system for allocation of club moorings based on work party attendance, number of times boat sailed in last season and years of continuous membership is breaking the law??
There should be some benefit to members who contribute as opposed to those who don't, thats what being a club member is all about. Take care; John.
In the meantime, it is a long article published in 2 parts in the Winter 2008/09 and Spring 2009 editions of the Rifleman.
Notably, it mentions that organisations should care for volunteers in much the same way as it would employees.
Technically, this means having people trained to use ladders, having members with the full 3-day H&S in the Workplace First Aid course, all the appropriate signage around the place, doing appropriate courses, etc, etc.
More pertinently however, is the topic of finance (which is where I got mixed up).
You are either a volunteer or an employee. An volunteer can be paid reasonable expenses.
This means that giving Joe a bottle of Scotch or a case of wine for mowing the ranges makes him an employee, and as such, he must (by law) be paid minimum wage. The same applies to forwarding honorariums to coaches, scorers, match officials, etc (e.g. presenting the club President or Secretary with a bottle of something at the club AGM or annual dinner for a job well done). They become employees.
You would get away with a few club members buying a dedicated member a gift privately. On the club accounts however, it is dangerous ground.
For an individual to receive a discount or preferential moorings based on them attending work parties is extremely dodgy ground, I would venture possibly illegal, unless the renumeration they receive amounts to more than the national minimum wage for the work done. I suspect the only reason it hasn't been stopped yet is that noone has noticed, or that your Treasurer knows, and engages creative accounting to hide such practices from the auditors.
Don't get me wrong, clubs should be free to do this, and should be free to reward the members who make the club exist, who do the paperwork and maintain the facilities. Unfortunately, the role of the volunteer is not really defined in law, there is just lots of legislation a volunteer can stray into very easily (such as employment law), as the law does not make allowance for minor renumeration of volunteers. To this end, the tax offices, auditors and HSE can sort of make it up as they go along, pulling in bits of law that suit their needs, meaning that clubs need to watch their step very carefully.
If the club's property is insured for a given amount, they should cover that amount. You have a legally binding contract. Certainly Perkins Slade who provide the NSRA's cover for affiliated clubs were very helpful in replacing a damged rifle a couple of years back, paying out the the amount for which the rifle was insured, not just the value of the rifle, which allowed us to replace it most satisfactorily.
I do not disagree that clubs should have reserves put by for contingencies, but if a club were to simply replace equipment out of their own pocket after an incident, without fully following up the insurance they have been paying for, and extracting the largest possible payout, then the committee members responsible would (IMO) be eligible for a good slapping.
It's what insurance companies are there for, and a service the club pays for (and will hopefully never have to use). If the club does need it, they should claim everything they are entitled to.
