New Volunteering Policy
25 Oct 2024
New volunteering policy offers colleagues the opportunity to request up to three days a year paid leave to support a charitable cause of their choice.
As part of the University’s commitment to Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement, we have recently updated and launched a new volunteer policy. We understand how important is it for colleagues to be able to give back to the wider community, whether that’s here in Greater Manchester, or further afield.
We recognise that many colleagues are already contributing their valuable time, skills, knowledge and experience to help others, so as part of our commitment we want to be able to give back to our employees.
The main changes to the Employee Volunteering Policy, which replaces the previous Staff Volunteering Policy include:
- All employees will be able to request up to three days paid leave (pro-rata) per holiday year (October to September) to participate in a volunteering activity of their choosing.
- To support employees being able to access volunteering opportunities, volunteering leave can be taken flexibly, with the option of requesting block days, half days or hourly units.
- Employees can choose to get involved with a volunteering activity which has a direct link with the University e.g. UoM Sport, or one via an external charity, organisation or local community project, which may be more suited to their interests e.g. supporting a local food bank or mental health charity, paired reading at a local school.
We do ask that employees consider how their choice of activity complements our Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement plan and that our Academic colleagues also give consideration as to whether their activity could be linked to their core teaching and/or research.
How to apply
Colleagues will need to complete an Employee Volunteering Application Form and seek approval from their line manager for the requested time off.
More information