FAQs for involving refugee volunteers

Language Issues

Legal Issues

Expenses

Volunteer management issues

Language Issues:

Do refugees have good written and spoken English
There are many asylum seekers and refugees who have good written and spoken English but of course there are also those who have very little. When deciding what roles you need volunteers for, please use the ‘Level of English’ guidance to help chose the appropriate level for the role. This will help us to refer suitable volunteers to you. If you would like help doing this, please contact us and we will be happy to work together.

People with limited English:
It does take more effort to involve volunteers with limited English but we have placed people in a range of different roles. For example, people have done practical work, helped out serving tea and coffee, preparing food at lunch clubs and we have involved people in my office to do basic admin roles e.g. sending out mailouts and entering data in our database.

Summary of English levels and suitable roles:

Level of English
 Example opportunity, role
Pre-Entry
Entry 1
 We are not able to find places with this level of English
Entry 2 Roles where visual demonstrations can be done along with simple instructions e.g.
•  Serving tea and coffee,
•  Gardening
•  Charity Shop work

Some places may offer simple admin tasks e.g. putting data onto computers, photocopying, filing.
Entry 3

Often Entry 3 is enough to do a wide range of roles and your previous experience and other skills will be more important than language
•  Admin office tasks
•  Befriending, supporting people
•  Finance work
•  Possibly advice work
Level 1
Level 2
Advanced courses

You can do most roles with this level of English.  Language should not be a deciding factor. Opportunities might include:
•  Management committee
•  Receptionist
•  Advice worker

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Does VAS offer language support? What about Health and Safety concerns?
We can’t offer ongoing language support but do have volunteers who can speak a community languages. We try to refer people who have sufficient English to do the role we refer them to and people must have  Entry 2 level English. Although this is quite basic they will be able to communicate simple things in English so we hope that organisations will be ok.
Roles such as gardening might not require a high level of English but may need volunteers to understand health and safety rules. In these cases we can provide an interpreter for the first meeting to go through health and safety information.

How can I be confident that there is a good level of 2 way understanding?
Often people will understand more than they are able to speak but this can make it hard to assess the level of understanding. One way to get a broad idea of how much people are likely to understand is by finding out what level English class they attend. Comparing this to the ‘Level of English’ guidelines should give you a rough idea of what people will understand.
Where it is important that people really understand what you are asking them to do there are some techniques you can use. One effective way to check people understand is by asking them to repeat back to you or explain in their own words what you have asked them to do. It may seem a little unnatural, but it does give a very good indication of the understanding.
For other roles, this may only come through supervising people and learning by ‘trial and error’.
Where this is too much of a risk, we do have some support with interpretation costs. (see below)

Are interpreters available for free or are there reduced rates for charities?
No. There are no reduced fees for charities as far as I am aware.

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Legal issues:

How many hours a week are refugees and asylum seekers allowed to volunteer?
There are no restrictions on the number of hours that refugees or asylum seekers can volunteer. If a refugee is getting Job Seekers Allowance, they will have to be:

  • ‘actively seeking work’ and
  • ready to have an interview within 48 hours and start work within a week.

Asylum seekers have no restrictions on the hours they can volunteer.

How can references be checked?
Some people may be able to provide references of a similar standard to UK citizens i.e. from people who have known them for 2 years or more.
However, for the majority of refugees and asylum seekers this will be difficult.
They may be able to get reference from a college tutor or a support worker. If they are unable to do this it might be because they are very isolated and may not have had contact with people or built relationships with people who will write a reference for them.

In these circumstances and where it is possible within your organisation try to be flexible by building up your own reference for the volunteer by supervising their activities. Through this you will get a good idea of the persons character.

How does a CRB check work? Can they be done internationally?
The CRB check works by comparing an individual’s details with the details held on the national UK criminal records database. This holds details of everyone who has committed a crime in the UK. Refugees can normally get a CRB check done with documents although asylum seekers will often have to use the finger print method (see our CRB Guidance for full details). The finger print method is more intrusive but clearly the most reliable way of checking a person’s identity.

CRB checks can be done internationally for some countries, sharing of criminal records internationally this does not include all countries and is unlikely to include countries where asylum seekers and refugees come from. This means that the check only covers the time that they have been in the UK but this should not necessarily mean that they cannot volunteer with you. The CRB is a vital tool but should always be used in conjunction with not a replacement for good induction, training and supervision where you can build a relationship with the volunteer and develop your own opinion as to their suitability and character.
There can be a tendency to assume that asylum seekers and refugees are high risk volunteers and the media sometimes portrays them almost as criminals - just for coming to the UK. Please bear in mind that asylum seekers are here because they are victims of crimes against them rather than perpetrators of crimes.

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Expenses

How and when should I pay expenses?
As a rule of thumb, expenses should be paid in cash, on the day, and the organisation should be proactive in offering expenses to the volunteer. If you have limited expenses then you should make a decision as an organisation as to how many volunteers you can take. You should pay a minimum of the travel costs e.g. the price of a day saver bus ticket. Refugees and asylum seekers often do not have bank accounts so please avoid paying by cheque or BACS payments.

Please see our guidelines on expenses for asylum seekers for more information.

We have limited funding for expenses. Can we get support for this from anywhere else?
It is possible to get funding for expenses from various funding bodies. Your organisation would need to put in a bid for this and advice on who to apply to can be found from SYFAB www.syfab.org.uk 0114 276 5460

What childcare provision is there for refugees and asylum seekers?
There is no special childcare provision for refugees and asylum seekers. However, as a volunteer, they are entitled to exactly the same expenses as any other volunteer. If your organisation provides childcare expenses to volunteers, you should provide childcare to refugees and asylum seekers as well.

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Volunteer management issues

How long do Refugee and Asylum seeker volunteers stay? If their case is heard are they likely to just leave?
It is hard to say how long volunteers will stay but this is true for all volunteers.

Refugees and asylum seekers are in different positions. Refugees have got status (i.e. permission to live in the UK permanently) so they are in the same position as many other volunteers. Asylum seekers are waiting for the Home Office to make a decision so this can be a stressful time for them.  However, this does not mean that they will necessarily leave or be more unreliable than any other volunteer that you interview.

It is helpful to take into consideration that refugees and asylum seekers are often in unstable situations and not in control of their lives in many ways e.g. They may well be moved to a new city with only a day's notice, or suddenly have their benefits stopped and need to sort it out.

Many refugees and asylum seekers volunteer regularly whilst going through difficult times but of course not everyone will. However, where people are well supported, feel valued and enjoy their roles, they will often commit for as long as possible.

Do highly qualified refugees get bored in volunteer posts and move on?
Highly qualified people do tend to be more selective when choosing an opportunity. They often want to do something that will help them get skills for employment or demonstrate their skill so whilst they can be selective, they are often committed. We do our best to give people a good idea of what each role involves and the benefits it has so that they will commit to a role. We always say that they should give at least 6 months commitment if they want a meaningful reference for a paid job.

How can refugees find out about our volunteering opportunities?
Volunteer Centre Sheffield keeps a database of opportunities in Sheffield. When volunteers are interviewed, we match their interests to the opportunities on this database. If you are not registered, please contact us and we will help you to register your opportunity.

How do we find volunteering opportunities which match the interests and experience of individual refugees and asylum seekers?
The Volunteer Centre refugee project advisors will interview people and match their interests as best we can to the opportunities available on our database. We can’t always get a perfect match but we can often find places that will help people develop key skills that they want, even if the role is not an exact fit.
It really helps us if you keep the Volunteer Centre updated with the volunteer roles that are available so that we can make the matches as accurately as possible. Contact us and we can help you to develop appropriate roles.

Are refugees interested in the social value or just the employment prospects of volunteering?
Preparing for employment is the top reason for volunteering. However, after that, people want to volunteer to help others and then meet new people so they do value the social aspect of volunteering. Many people just want to help other people and do something useful as they are not allowed to work. When volunteers are interviewed, they will be told of the wider benefits that volunteering bring and many want to volunteer for the social value that it brings.

Are there any cultural / religious issues that we need to be aware of?
There are too many issues to give a full answer to this question here, and some issues such as people’s attitudes are so dependent on individuals that I do not feel comfortable giving a general answer.
The most important thing is to give volunteers the confidence to tell you if there is an important issue for them. Therefore during their induction tell them that you do not know much about cultural or religious issues and ask them if there are any things that you can do to make the volunteer feel welcome and be sensitive to their beliefs. This will give people the opportunity to tell you what is important to them. Even within faiths and cultures there is huge diversity so it is always best to talk to individuals about their needs.

Is availability limited because volunteers will need to pray at set times?
This has not caused any limitations so far and many Muslims have started volunteering in mainstream organisations. Some Muslim volunteers have wanted to keep Friday free so they can attend the Friday prayers, but aside from this it is unlikely to be a problem. Volunteers who need to pray will often be able to do this at the organisation where they volunteer. It is a good idea to ask if people will want to do this, and offer them a place where they can do this if possible. Prayers normally take only a few minutes, no longer than making a cup of tea or smoking a cigarette.

How can we be sensitive to an individual’s specific situation?
Should we offer different support when training refugee and asylum seeker volunteers?
Refugees and asylum seekers will often need extra support as they might not be as familiar with how UK organisations work and the procedures that other volunteers may be familiar with. They may also lack confidence in their own skills and so training can take a bit longer, and should involve more encouragement and confidence building. Please be proactive in asking if people have questions, or need anything explaining again etc.

Please do not ask people about their asylum application, or why they came to the UK. This is a really sensitive issue and may bring up memories and issues that people do not feel comfortable talking about. Some people will want to talk about it, but I would not initiate the discussion.

How do we deal with the emotional / personal issues of asylum seekers and refugees.
Organisations are not expected to deal with emotional issues, although there may be cases where asylum seekers talk about the issues that they are facing. This has not been a common issue but when it comes up it can be difficult to handle. In these cases it may be appropriate to refer them to other support services in Sheffield. The Volunteer Centre can give details of appropriate support services in Sheffield if they are available.

How do we deal with discrimination / negative attitudes of other volunteers and people they may come into contact with?
If there are specific issues, the Volunteer Centre may be able to help although your organisation should have a robust policy on dealing with discrimination and offensive behaviour in the workplace. If there are certain people, or a group of people who do not adhere to your policies we could provide a training session on working with refugee volunteers to your staff and volunteer teams. If there is a broad problem across the organisation then it would be a good idea to try to get senior managers and staff to implement a diversity toolkit to change the way the organisation operates. There are a number of different toolkits available from the Volunteering England website

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