Volunteers replacing paid positions

Paul in Cannon Beach

For those of you who use volunteers, have you ever heard of any restrictions regarding replacing what was formerly a paid position with a volunteer?

One of our board members brought this up. My initial thought was that the concept of volunteers inherently assumed that you were replacing what would otherwise be a paid position with an unpaid volunteer.

Can anyone else shed some light?

stilldazed

Sticky issue for some organizations and less so for others, such as nonprofits or religious organizations.

Our organization has a considerable number very willing volunteers (honestly) who are more than happy to step into any position to help, and we generally draw the line with whether the position being filled by the volunteer is a whole position within the organization and whether the position is integral to the commerce of our organization. If a volunteer can assist with a defined project for a defined period of time, even if the project is something related to what a paid position does, we make a provision for the volunteer. If the volunteer wants to fill a position that is currently vacant or for which the incumbent is on vacation, we will not allow the volunteer to pick up all activities for the position unless we hire the volunteer and pay a wage for the volunteer's services.

Examples: If we have a clerical position vacant or clerical staff on vacation and the clerical position includes receptionist or phone duties, we will allow a volunteer to answer the phone, field foot traffic, and take messages. We will not allow the volunteer to assume any other parts of the job.

We use volunteers to make copies of documents that must be copied in bulk, stuff envelopes for mass mailouts, run errands between offices, shred nonconfidential documents, and such. However, if the task is something that is closely tied to the commerce of the business, a required function, something tied to a revenue-generating activity, or something requiring special skill that is required in our organization, we do not permit volunteers to fill those tasks.

Hope this helps. Best wishes.