Associations under the 1901 law generally call on volunteers to carry out their actions in the field. A volunteer contract can then be relevant to frame the missions of volunteers, to establish a relationship between staff and volunteers and finally, to regulate the various tasks assigned to them. It should be noted that in France, more than 13 million people, or 24% of the population, get involved in an association without anything in return.
It is therefore necessary to question the voluntary contract; What is the situation exactly? Is it mandatory? What are the clauses to be included in this volunteering agreement?
In this article, we will answer all your questions!
What is the volunteer contract?
First of all, it is important to know that the main objective of signing a volunteer contract is to guarantee the protection of the person involved with your association and to ensure that his or her function remains faithful to that previously determined. In other words, the volunteer contract sets out the functions of the volunteers in order to optimize your associative project.
The title of volunteer suggests a certain freedom of commitment. In this sense, therefore, neither obligations nor sanctions can result. We can then say that it is a moral contract or a kind of agreement between the two parties. Thus, it is customary to use the term “reciprocal commitment agreement”.
Differences between employment contracts and voluntary contracts.
“A volunteer is one who freely commits himself or herself to carry out a non-salaried action, not subject to the obligation of the law, outside of his or her professional and family time.”
We therefore deduce that when we talk about volunteering, it has no legal subordination. His nature is therefore purely free. That said, he is a real asset in the management of an association. Nevertheless, the following criteria should be taken into account:
- No salary is paid to the volunteer, apart from the expenses incurred by the volunteer, such as equipment, accommodation, travel, etc. The costs incurred are the one and only monetary flows exchanged between a legal person and a person hired on a voluntary basis.
- The functions are free and voluntary since the volunteer remains independent at all times. He can then decide to leave the associative life at any time, without procedure.
- The convention protects and supports the fundamental principles of voluntary recruitment to limit any refusal to perform, absences and abandonments. In other words, it reduces or even avoids any conflict between staff and volunteers.
Unlike employees, volunteers do not benefit from social security coverage but can claim coverage related to work accidents.
Members and volunteers, are we talking about the same thing?
Volunteering is not synonymous with membership. Contrary to popular belief, a person who is involved as a volunteer is not obliged to be a member of your association. The fact remains that it is rare for a volunteer not to be a member at the same time.
A member, chooses to finance a membership fee due to his subscription which subsequently gives him access to certain exclusive rights to members. Often, the members are assigned with the board as the sole shareholders of the non-profit association. Their number generally put forward attests to their energy and good will.
It can therefore be noted that these rights are the main difference between a member and a volunteer. That said, the latter can take advantage of the services provided by the solidarity association and ensures the smooth running of the activities. The fact remains that it is rare for a volunteer not to be a member at the same time. The volunteer, who is also attached to a cause that is dear to him, derives a real advantage by becoming a volunteer.
Benefits of the contract for volunteers
The volunteer contract formalizes the action of the volunteer person thanks to a real status that is attributed to him. The volunteer therefore earns recognition for his help to an association given the fact that his actions are declared. The latter brings equity and official admission of the member of the association and allows a real integration into the group!
In addition, such a contract creates a real social bond as well as protection for members. In some cases, it represents a real security for the volunteer since he takes account of his actions. In the event that an association used his status to impose orders on him, he could possibly be protected.
This “charter of mutual commitments” establishes the foundations and shapes the relationships and expectations of all members and it is interesting for the volunteer to take advantage of it.
It is important to know that employees can take advantage of the 2016 Labour Law, which allows managers to allocate paid leave days to employees so that they can engage in any voluntary activity
It is therefore a measure that makes commitment accessible to people who are hesitant to commit due to lack of time.
Advantages for associations
There are also various advantages of the volunteer contract at the associative level.
For example, it makes it possible to establish solid and healthy rules to create social cohesion and federate mixed teams, including both employees and volunteers. Therefore, it protects the general interest of your structure. It is thanks to this contract that volunteers can be led to comply with certain imperatives related to the rules of cohabitation, responsibilities or activities.
In addition, developing requirements and expectations will make it possible to avoid encountering so-called stowaways, i.e. all those who appear to be volunteers without the slightest demonstration of involvement. The volunteer contract will then alleviate this problem and constitute a real brake to protect the proper functioning of the association.
Although it is not only a contract of employment, the volunteer contract still allows you to set out expectations such as:
- Compliance with ethics, statutory provisions and internal regulations
- Involvement and commitment in missions and activities;
- Benevolent collaboration with all the other members of the association, volunteers or not;
- Participation in scheduled meetings;
- Observance of an obligation of discretion in all places;
- Keep the person in charge informed if it is impossible to attend the scheduled appointment.
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To conclude...
The volunteer status complements the salaried status. It does not pose any competition to paid tasks. On the contrary, it is a real asset for your associative life and avoids any misplacement between paid work and volunteering. All the more, it protects the association from the risk of finding itself in an uncomfortable situation of requalification, but also protects the volunteers from paying the price of a disguised salary. In the event of reclassification, a penalty of 45,000 euros in fine and 3 years of imprisonment will be applied thanks to the labor law to the “employer” who has practiced wage concealment. It is therefore better to put together a volunteer contract than to incur 3 years of imprisonment and a fine of €45,000.
