Do volunteers have the same legal rights as employees in T&T?

The legal relationship between a CSO and its volunteers is different from employment — but “no obligations” overstates the case.

Key distinctions:

• Volunteers are generally not employees and do not receive statutory employment protections
• However, CSOs remain responsible for volunteer health and safety under the Occupational Safety and Health Act
• If a volunteer is given responsibilities, regular hours, and compensation that starts to look like employment, a court may recharacterise the relationship

Best practices:

• Have a Volunteer Agreement (not an employment contract) setting out the volunteer’s role and any expense reimbursement
• Maintain a Volunteer Register
• Provide an induction and training
• Include volunteers in your code of conduct and safeguarding policies
• Never use volunteers to replace paid roles that should be funded