Catherine Gage from new AIM Associate Supplier Hunters Law LLP on ensuring your volunteers are up to speed with the latest legislation.
The essence of a museum is not contained in glass cases alone – it also lives in the volunteers who welcome, guide, archive, preserve, and protect. Stewardship of this legacy now extends far beyond collections care, with risk assessments, fire exits, and traditional safety measures no longer sufficient in themselves. New developments redefine good governance in volunteer-led cultural spaces. My top 6 risk considerations are:
- Equality and inclusion
As volunteers are not considered to be employees or workers they are not afforded the discrimination protections (including age) under the Equality Act. Also limited is protection under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (as amended) from such things as unfair dismissal and detriment suffered as a result of whistleblowing. Future case law may, however, test boundaries with certain volunteering arrangements.
Even where statutory protection is limited, inclusive practice is often expected – particularly for museums seeking grants or partnerships with equality and engagement requirements or as part of Charity governance.
2. Governance and serious incident planning
Volunteers often form a significant operational component, representing dependency risks. Boards should receive reporting on volunteer numbers, roles, training, safeguarding compliance, and retention.
Trustees of charitable museums must manage risk in the charity’s best interests. Volunteers must be included in the risk register, safeguarding framework – including DBS checks – incident reporting systems, business continuity planning, and grant reporting requirements and, of course, serious incident policies and procedures. Even if not a charity, safeguarding requirements must never be overlooked.
3. Data protection responsibilities
Whilst coming in at number 3, museums must remember that liability for data breaches under this heading can be colossal – with maximum penalties of £17.5 million or 4% of the total annual worldwide turnover in the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.
Volunteers handle booking forms, mailing lists, donor records, and school information. Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, the museum is highly likely to be the data controller, making it legally responsible for volunteer breaches.
Special category data – including, but not limited to, health information, dietary needs, or equality monitoring – carries heightened compliance obligations and fines. Volunteers must follow policies on role-based access, breach reporting, and secure record handling. Induction and refresher training should cover data protection responsibilities with data mapping ensuring all volunteer data. GDPR compliance should feature in a well drafted volunteer agreement and the Volunteer Policy itself.
Compliance should also reflect the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which updates UK data governance and requires, a new
Complaints Procedure for all by 19 June 2026.
4. Safeguarding and security
Volunteers working with children or vulnerable adults must be fully integrated into safeguarding arrangements, including checks (DBS/due diligence), training, and reporting routes. All policies and procedures should be integrated into the Serious Incident Policy and Volunteer Agreements and again, the Volunteer Policy itself.
Where Martyn’s Law (Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025) applies, front-of-house volunteers must be included in security awareness, evacuation/invacuation, and emergency planning. This is complex legislation with 2026 seen as a preparatory year for 2027 implementation. Volunteers must be protected and trained accordingly.
5. Employment status risk
Museums must avoid implied employment. Volunteer agreements should reflect goodwill, not contracts of service and should avoid, for example:
- Giving volunteers set working hours
- Using formal contractual wording or disciplinary procedures
- Offering regular perks or gifts that could be seen as wages (small, one-off honorariums are often out of scope and museums that are also charities, must consider whether Charity Commission approval is required for larger gifts to trustees),
- Requiring volunteers to work in exchange for benefits.
Recognition schemes, such as long service awards, are acceptable but must not replicate employment benefits.
6. Insurance and demographic reality
Museums should ensure volunteers are explicitly covered by:
- Public liability
- Employer’s liability (even though they are not employees or workers)
- Trustee/D&O insurance
- Professional indemnity, event, cyber, or personal accident cover, as relevant.
Policies must define volunteers as insured persons. After all, they remain an extraordinary asset. Nevertheless, without structured oversight they can also become an avoidable vulnerability.
To find out more about Hunters contact Catherine Gage 020 7412 5240 [email protected]
Other news
Latest Museum Fundamentals grant recipients
We’re pleased to announce the successful applications in the latest round of Museum Fundamentals, funded by Pilgrim Trust and The Julia Rausing Trust.
Keeping your strategy alive
Museums are facing growing demands, tighter budgets and an increasingly unpredictable operating environment. So how do you create a strategy that provides clear direction without becoming disconnected from reality?
Make positive change happen
In the latest of our series of features looking at different ways in to the ‘Fragile to Flourishing’ research, Steve Gardam shares his initial reaction.