help with volunteer age please

[welshbookworm]

Good evening, I hope you can help, a friends daughter wants to help in he local charity shop but she's 12. Is there any rules saying what she can and can't do? Can she volunteer in a shop that young?
I've tried looking on line but all the legislation is about working or for profit organisations .
Many thanks for your time and help

[Savvy_Sue]

I'd expect a responsible 'employer' using young volunteers to follow similar guidelines to paid employment, so I'd be surprised if the charity shop would allow a 12 yo to volunteer. Not sure if there's any law against it, but I believe that if they were employing someone under school leaving age then they would have to register with the local authority.

I'm guessing that their insurance would not cover a 12 year old, for the reasons given above. The limitations on young people working are quite stringent in terms of no. of hours, time hours can be worked and what they can do, and it's all for good reason.

[welshbookworm]

Thank you, I didn't think she could do it, but as she was asking, I thought I would check.
I'll suggest she goes to Guides or Scouts instead.

[kingfisherblue]

If she goes to Guides, she can volunteer to help with a local Brownie or Rainbow unit as well. At 12, she would be a pack leader, and from 13, she can be a young leader. Rainbows tend to meet for an hour a week andd Brownies usually meet for an hour and a half, altohugh it does vary between units.

More information from www.girlguiding.org.uk

www.guiders.co.uk has some forums that might give you more useful information.

[DomRavioli]

As it is unpaid work, there are no laws regarding age for it. You may find that there are insurance complications as its usually over 16s, but from a legal standpoint there are only rules for the number of hours worked at a time.

[rarrarrar]

A bit late, but the age rules for young workers applies whether they are paid or unpaid.
This does prove problematic for charity shops with schoolchildren wanting to work Sundays !

[dearbarbie]

its v sweet of her to want to help though!

[Katiehound]

For your information the minimum age for volunteering with the Blue Cross is 14 yo. I think this will probably be working with the animals rather than working in a shop.