Help Or Hindrance? Can Charity Volunteers Bring Discrimination Claims?

Charities will welcome the decision of the Supreme Court that discrimination laws do not cover volunteers. In the case of X v Mid-Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau, Ms X alleged that she had been discriminated against because of her disability. She said that this discrimination was against European Law and argued that her voluntary work constituted an "occupation" and that, therefore, she was covered by the legislation.

A recent survey commissioned National Council for Voluntary Organisations showed that 19.8 million adults formally volunteer at least once a year. Many charities could not survive without that support and therefore it is very significant to them that they can accept offers of help without fear of legal claims being brought under discrimination laws, or of having to incur associated additional costs. The case of X v Mid-Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau was brought under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and under European Law under the Equal Treatment Framework Directive (2000/78/EC). Although the DDA has now been replaced by the Equality Act 2010, the relevant wording is essentially the same under both pieces of legislation. Protection is given to people who are "employed" and also to those undertaking vocational training. For these purposes, "employment" means employment under a contract of employment, a contract of apprenticeship or a contract personally to do work. Ms X suggested that her volunteer work fell within those definitions. The decision of the Supreme Court was that Ms X did not have protection under the Disability Discrimination Act, as she did not fall within the definition of "employment". Firstly, it was determined that she had no contract with the CAB. Secondly, her work was not vocational training; although she may have developed her skills during her volunteer work, that was not the sole or dominant purpose, it was simply a by-product. Finally, the Court was clear that the Framework Directive was not intended to encompass voluntary work; there is no reference to volunteer work in the Directive and there has never been any suggestion that the UK has not implemented the Directive correctly by failing to offer protection to volunteers. What does this mean for employers? The reaffirmation of the position that volunteers are not covered by discrimination laws is good news for charities and other voluntary sector organisations. However it should be noted that, although this particular claim failed...