Risk Management

Managing Risks, Relationships and Responsibilities

For both charities and volunteers, there are risks (things that could go wrong) and liabilities (things you should be covered for) as well as legal responsibilities to take account of. LASA's guide to assessing and managing risks associated with IT projects gives a good overview and detailed advice.

Health and Safety

• Charities should be aware of insurance issues and health and safety regulations. LASA's Knowledgebase provides a useful guide to your responsibilities.
• Volunteering England has an information sheet covering insurance for volunteers.

Liabilities

If you act as a volunteer on behalf of your company (whether as an employee of a large corporate or of your own consultancy business), you will be within your contract of employment and your employer has a duty of care to protect you from harm during the volunteer activity. You also have personal and professional responsibilities to act appropriately and competently.

• Employer's Liability Insurance is required by law and the responsibility of the employer, whether a large business or a small consultancy. If you employ staff (including yourself - i.e. you are working as a business or limited company rather than self-employed), you MUST have Employer's Liability Insurance for your work, irrespective of whether it is fee-paying or as a volunteer. There are policies specific to IT contractors and this costs from around 150 per annum upwards. Note that in order to cover volunteering, there must be a specific clause in the policy noting that activity.
• Public Liability Insurance covers an organisation for damage or loss, to person or property, as a result of negligence. This affects both your employer and the charity you are volunteering for and covers legal liability against death, injury and damage. For instance, if the roof falls in on you while you're rewriting the website on the charity's premises,  their Public Liability Insurance will apply to loss or damage.
• Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance is the most significant issue affecting individual volunteers. It covers individuals (and their employers) for loss or injury caused by services provided negligently or without reasonable care. Many IT professionals (including contractors) work without PI although it is not advisable to do so. There is no legal requirement for any volunteer to obtain PI insurance.

iT4Communities accepts no liability for errors or omissions relating to the above or for any loss, damage or injury which might be caused as a result of use or misuse of the information.