Volunteering 2024

[marathonsteve]

2 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

Just if anyone is reading this, the charity commission investigate serious complaints of harm and illegal activity about a charity. Being spoken to in a sh*tty way and told to sign in to your shift in a field you can't get to are really unlikely to meet that threshold. 

Glad they apologised and I'd agree with what other people have said that sometimes you need some self advocacy to ensure your needs are met. Everyone is a volunteer with different abilities.

 

Totally !!!!!!!! Its like saying you can only report something to the police if its only something they will investigate. 

[stuie]

11 minutes ago, marathonsteve said:

I wonder if you would be so kind as to post where people can apply to the charity Commission Thanks

 

24 minutes ago, marathonsteve said:

One more Bizarre post

You’ve lost me, sorry.

[stuie]

11 minutes ago, marathonsteve said:

I wonder if you would be so kind as to post where people can apply to the charity Commission Thanks

 

24 minutes ago, marathonsteve said:

One more Bizarre post

You’ve lost me, sorry.

[marathonsteve]

9 minutes ago, stuie said:

 

You’ve lost me, sorry.

I wonder if you would be so kind as to post where people can apply to the charity Commission Thanks

[tarw]

8 minutes ago, marathonsteve said:

I wonder if you would be so kind as to post where people can apply to the charity Commission Thanks

Apply to the Charity Commission or report to them?

[marathonsteve]

23 minutes ago, stuie said:

 

You’ve lost me, sorry.

All of the issues I have encountered are due to my RA's not being taken into account by whoever did the rota and at Glastonbury made worse by the way I was spoken to by Oxbox when I reached out to change them.

Oxbox also contacted me about an hour before my first shift (also at Glastonbury) asking me to go to the Oxbox to sign in for my shift. I explained I was not in Oxfield, I was in the Accessible Campsite and as my shift was at the Accessible Arrivals Marquee I physically couldn't get there and back in time. Yet again I was spoken to with a complete lack of respect as if I was a naughy school child. 

The supervisors I have worked with have always been supportive. We didn't have one at Glastonbury despite the close proximity to Gate A hence why they wanted me to spend 2 hours signing in due to their oversight.

[tarw]

What to report to the Charity Commission

You can report things that have happened, are happening or are likely to happen. Only report issues to us that could seriously harm:

• the people a charity helps
• the charity’s staff or volunteers
• services the charity provides
• the charity’s assets
• the charity’s reputation

Examples of serious harm include:

• if someone’s health or safety is in danger, for example if a charity does not use its safeguarding policy
• a criminal offence, for example theft, fraud or financial mismanagement
• if a charity uses its activities as a platform for extremist views or materials
• loss of charity funds, for example when a charity loses more than 20% of its income or more than £25,000
• if the charity does not meet its legal obligations, for example if someone uses a charity for significant personal advantage

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-serious-wrongdoing-at-a-charity-as-a-worker-or-volunteer#what-to-report-to-the-charity-commission

[gazzared]

31 minutes ago, marathonsteve said:

I wonder if you would be so kind as to post where people can apply to the charity Commission Thanks

@marathonsteveI think your replying to the wrong person 

[tarw]

It would look to me that you could report them to CC as they could have risked the Health or safety of @StoneCircle   There should be adequate Risk Assessments in place to ensure the Health and Safety of volunteers who require Reasonable Adjustments. 
 

How much work the CC would do on the case is debatable and they would probably just pass the concerns on and ask for a response. As SC has already raised the issue and had an apology it probably wouldn’t achieve anything 

[StoneCircle]

Thanks for your concern @marathonsteve I don't want to report them to CC just make others aware of the issues that can happen when your reasonable adjustments go wrong! They lost an experienced steward due to their own sheer arrogance. 

[Leyrulion]

46 minutes ago, tarw said:

How much work the CC would do on the case is debatable and they would probably just pass the concerns on and ask for a response. As SC has already raised the issue and had an apology it probably wouldn’t achieve anything

That's what I was getting at when I said it would be unlikely to meet their threshold. 

You could do it but the way it was handled in the end was the better way to do it imo. 

 

Edited March 19 by Leyrulion

[marathonsteve]

23 minutes ago, StoneCircle said:

Thanks for your concern @marathonsteve I don't want to report them to CC just make others aware of the issues that can happen when your reasonable adjustments go wrong! They lost an experienced steward due to their own sheer arrogance. 

You are not alone by any means from what people have have told me. Thank you for sharing your experiences on here, it must have been difficult for you to summon up the courage to do that. I salute you most emphatically for doing that.

[amfy]

I honestly think that one difficulty Oxfam, or any organisation Tbf, might have is around the number & range of reasonable adjustments they can reasonably accommodate. Reasonable adjustments have two levels. Firstly is it a reasonable thing for the volunteer to ask? Then can it reasonably be accommodated and still get the job Oxfam are employed to deliver done.

I think if volunteers are asking for quiet shifts, certain times if day, shifts where they can sit down, shifts that aren’t too far from base etc, those aren’t unreasonable to requests in themselves, but if they get too many volunteers needing this, they have a problem with covering what needs covering, and their recruitment process doesn’t seem to cover this eventuality.

i think that’s where they might run into problems as they have more and more returning volunteers who are getting older and needing more allowance to be made for their physical condition. Having been a supervisor, I know it can be heavy going trying to rotate people when half of them need to sit down for most of the time. 
 

That’s not meant as a criticism of anyone with a genuine need, but Oxfam also have a job to get done with the people they employ, & their recruitment process doesn’t seem to do anything to protect themselves against the extremity of literally everyone turning up & needing to sit down!

So maybe that’s something they need to think about - maybe 2 volunteer pots - one for straightforward ‘I can go anywhere I’m put’ applications, & one for people who need to request adjustments, with a bit of wriggle room for people whose circumstances change.
It would be over simplifying it, but not as much as they are now.

Otherwise they are promising people with additional needs something they possibly can’t deliver.

[marathonsteve]

12 minutes ago, amfy said:

I honestly think that one difficulty Oxfam, or any organisation Tbf, might have is around the number & range of reasonable adjustments they can reasonably accommodate. Reasonable adjustments have two levels. Firstly is it a reasonable thing for the volunteer to ask? Then can it reasonably be accommodated and still get the job Oxfam are employed to deliver done.

I think if volunteers are asking for quiet shifts, certain times if day, shifts where they can sit down, shifts that aren’t too far from base etc, those aren’t unreasonable to requests in themselves, but if they get too many volunteers needing this, they have a problem with covering what needs covering, and their recruitment process doesn’t seem to cover this eventuality.

i think that’s where they might run into problems as they have more and more returning volunteers who are getting older and needing more allowance to be made for their physical condition. Having been a supervisor, I know it can be heavy going trying to rotate people when half of them need to sit down for most of the time. 
 

That’s not meant as a criticism of anyone with a genuine need, but Oxfam also have a job to get done with the people they employ, & their recruitment process doesn’t seem to do anything to protect themselves against the extremity of literally everyone turning up & needing to sit down!

So maybe that’s something they need to think about - maybe 2 volunteer pots - one for straightforward ‘I can go anywhere I’m put’ applications, & one for people who need to request adjustments, with a bit of wriggle room for people whose circumstances change.
It would be over simplifying it, but not as much as they are now.

Otherwise they are promising people with additional needs something they possibly can’t deliver.

Hiya We were just wondering are you an Oxfam Supervisor

[marathonsteve]

8 minutes ago, marathonsteve said:

Hiya We were just wondering are you an Oxfam Supervisor

 

[marathonsteve]

Just now, marathonsteve said:

 

 

[amfy]

3 minutes ago, marathonsteve said:

Hiya We were just wondering are you an Oxfam Supervisor

I was an accidental one last year. I somehow ticked that box and ended up having to do it when I didn’t really want to. I also had some not great experiences with those higher up, but some good ones too. 
In terms of RA - my husband hadn’t put it on his application but pulled his back in the week leading up to the festival. We ended up spending a lot of Wednesday at FMS to get some stronger painkillers for him and spoke to Oxbox about the fact that he might not complete his shifts (he did). When we got on shift he was on the Team Leaders sheet as an RA despite it having been added late, and they said he should just ask if he needed to sit or lie down for a bit, or let them know if he couldn’t complete the shift. As it turned out, he just got through it, but I had some pre-noted RAs on my team who I looked to put where they would be OK, but then also some others on my team who said they need to sit and others had been ‘sitting for ages’. It’s just not as easy as it looks sometimes. I think some managers/supervisors have a bad attitude, but others just end up with a lot of people who don’t want to stand up for 8 hours. That’s not saying that anyone isn’t genuine in that requirement, just that there is such a thing as too many.

[StoneCircle]

1 hour ago, amfy said:

Otherwise they are promising people with additional needs something they possibly can’t deliver.

This is what happened to me in 2018 at Beautiful Days. The 3 way vehicle gate placement to a deaf volunteer with mobility issues. The Oxfam manager visited me to discuss what I could do and made the necessary adjustments to my next shifts. Shame that he never  attempted to contact me to do the same at Glastonbury in 2022. It was the same manager at both festivals. Lost all respect for him and the Festival Stewards organisation. 

Edited March 20 by StoneCircle

[croiz]

10 hours ago, Sawman said:

Can’t remember them all sorry but the main ones are Stonebridge, West Holts bar, Cockmill (acoustic stage) and a few small bars dotted around the site. They don’t do the main stage bars like at Pyramid or the Avalon bar. 

A previous Avalon/shelter volunteer posted a little map on this forum at some point with all the Avalon bars on & their names.... Since I've been given a volunteering place this year I've been searching and searching for it. I'm sure I wasn't hallucinating 

[tarw]

I think that there is some confusion about what Reasonable Adjustments are. 
They are a legal requirement to prevent people with a disability from being prevented from doing something. Being old/fat/lazy/hanging is not a disability. 
If you have a disability such as SC does then you should have Reasonable Adjustments made by law as well as morally. 
The idea that you have pots or quotas of volunteers eligible for RAs is morally wrong and illegal. To me the problem is people asking for adjustments when they don’t have a disability causes the problem. 
If you have a disability then you know that you have it and can request RAs before the event. These need to be met if they’re reasonable. 
An injury is temporary and not a disability and though supervisors might be understanding there is no requirement to make adjustments. 
ps I do not volunteer for Glastonbury with Oxfam and am not an apologist for them. What they did to SC is totally wrong 

[philipsteak]

Just had an email from Oxfam about a survey and was able to use some of StoneCircle's account to inform some of my answers (without going in to any detail).

Maybe if a few of us do the same it might help prevent similar things happening in the future.

[tarw]

1 minute ago, philipsteak said:

Just had an email from Oxfam about a survey and was able to use some of StoneCircle's account to inform some of my answers (without going in to any detail).

Maybe if a few of us do the same it might help prevent similar things happening in the future.

I’ve just done the same!

[stuie]

For balance, I’ll just add here that I’ve never encountered any problems - I’ve been informed about RA’s and have always been able to accommodate them without any issues. 

 

[philipsteak]

24 minutes ago, stuie said:

For balance, I’ll just add here that I’ve never encountered any problems - I’ve been informed about RA’s and have always been able to accommodate them without any issues. 

 

Absolutely.

It's not a witch hunt. I've volunteered for then for years, my first was in 2003. I'm pro Oxfam stewarding generally.

But constructive feedback is always useful.

My boss might see it differently (good online reviews is one of their KPIs) but I always think constructive, thoughtful, but ultimately negative reviews from guests are way more useful than vague, sunny, positive ones. 

[amfy]

Just to be clear, I’m not saying Stonecircle wasn’t poorly treated, or that Oxfam shouldn’t be catering for RAs. All I’m saying is that in practice theres a limit to the number of people with RAs you can take. I think one possible reason they end up treating people with RAs badly at times, is that they can’t accommodate the numbers they recruit with the roles available and there’s no getting round the need to manage that better. 

As an extreme example - Oxfam cannot do the job they are there to do, if everyone they recruit needs to sit down……or  to be fair, even if half need to sit down.

Saying we’ll always cater for RAs is great in theory, but in practice, there is a limit to how many there can be, & if they don’t manage that somehow, it’s the people needing RAs that suffer.

Also in my experience on shift their management of RAs has been fine, & there wasn’t anyone I couldn’t accommodate when I was supervising, but StoneCircle isn’t the first person I have heard complain, I have met several people in the Oxfam canteen tent that haven’t been happy.