Policies :: Volunteer Guidelines

What Volunteers can expect from UNISEX

UNISEX commit to the following:

To provide adequate information, training and support for you to be able to meet the responsibilities of your volunteer work.
To take account of any specialist skills/qualifications/experience held by you.
To respect that the availability of volunteers is limited and that this may fluctuate.
To be receptive to any comments from you regarding ways in which we might mutually better accomplish our respective tasks.
To reimburse you with out of pocket expenses incurred during volunteer work (where receipts are provided).
To provide confidential one-to-one support and supervision on request.
To provide a certificate detailing your experience and skills and references for future employers if required.

UNISEX will not expect you to offer a greater time commitment than you are willing or able to offer. UNISEX will not expect you to undertake tasks that you do not have the skills or ability to perform or that you are unwilling to undertake. If you are unable to carry out your duties for whatever reason you must inform the Project Workers.

Policies and Procedures

Health and Safety

For your own safety we advise the following:

Volunteers should be free from drugs and alcohol whilst working.
Volunteers should avoid talking to people who are very drunk or disorientated.
Volunteers should avoid disclosing personal information and must not give out their telephone number or address.
During outreach work, volunteers must always work in pairs.
Volunteers must not have sex or arrange for future sex whilst working.

Confidentiality

UNISEX expects all its staff and volunteers to agree to and observe a code of confidentiality to be maintained at ALL times.

Confidentiality means:

Not disclosing personal information about any client with people outside UNISEX.
Only disclosing personal information about a client to others in UNISEX on a 'need to know' basis.
Not sharing personal information about another volunteer or staff member with anyone else unless consent has been obtained from the individual concerned. An exception would be if a volunteer had a grievance about another volunteer or member of staff and needed to disclose personal information about them in order to discuss the grievance with the Health Promotion Coordinator (see below).
If there is any doubt as to whether a matter is confidential or not, it should be treated as confidential. Any queries or concerns regarding confidentiality should be discussed with the Service Co-ordinator.

Equal Opportunities

UNISEX is committed to the principle of equality of opportunity and volunteers are expected to actively support this.

UNISEX embraces the value of diversity and seeks to ensure the widest possible representation within itself by the community it serves.
UNISEX aims to offer information and support about any sexual health, drug or alcohol issue and to make safer sex resources available to any member of the University communities regardless of their gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, marital status, disability, religion, creed, social background, class, sexual orientation or HIV antibody status.

Complaints and Grievances

If you have a complaint or grievance about another volunteer of staff member, this should be discussed with the Service Co-ordinator. If you have a complaint about the Service Co-ordinator this should be directed to the Development Manager or the Student Advice Centre Manager.