Volunteering opportunities

Our volunteering policy, Volunteer2day, allows you to take up to two days leave in any one-year rolling period to volunteer.

You can take your two days leave in hours, half days and full days and if your volunteering is done outside of the working day, you can claim this time back in lieu. If you have already done volunteering in the calendar year which you would like to count towards your two days, you are able to do this and claim the time back in the same way.

Once you have found a volunteering opportunity, please complete the Volunteering Request Form , with the relevant information and have this approved by your line manager. Send this then to HR for them to keep safe. Then Simply request this via Unit 4 in the same way as leave with the absence reason as ‘volunteering’.

If you are claiming back volunteering hours spent outside of work, you can choose when to take the time off. As Unit 4 can only record time in days and half days, if you are volunteering a couple of hours at a time, please liaise with your manager directly and log this time off on Unit4 once you have accumulated enough hours for a half-day or day.

If you are interested in volunteering, please remember to:

speak to your manager about when you want to volunteer and complete the Volunteering Request Form
once approved by your manager, book your volunteering leave on Unit 4
update your outlook calendar.

If you have any questions about volunteering please contact the HR Service Desk. You can also red the Frequently Asked Questions below. In this blog post, Matt Richardson – GC's Social Value Lead explores the various ways you can maximise our social impact through volunteering and uncover where the true value lies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who does the opportunity to volunteer apply to?

A: All GC employees

Q: What types of volunteering can I do?

A: GC supports colleagues who are undertaking community or charitable activities that are aligned with the corporate value of our organisations. This could include, but not limited to, activities that support; environmental sustainability, capacity building including fundraising for community projects, young people and /or vulnerable adults, school/college/university mentoring.

Q: How many days can I volunteer for?

A: Two days in any one year rolling period (meaning the day in which you first volunteer will be the start of your rolling year).

Q: What is the process to request time to volunteer?

A: We're currently looking at reviewing this process, however at present: 1. Complete a volunteer request form 2. Request the time formally via Unit4, similar to the way in which we book annual leave.

Q: Can I complete volunteering outside of my working hours?

A: Yes you can, you can therefore also take this time back in lieu.

Q: Where can I find the volunteering policy?

A: Volunteering Policy.docx (sharepoint.com)

Q: Where can I find the volunteer request form?

A: Volunteering Request Form.docx (sharepoint.com)

Volunteering Case Studies

Click here to read some feedback from colleagues on how they've spent their volunteering days and what the experience has meant to them.

Volunteering Opportunities

Young People:

Careers and Enterprise Company

Young Enterprise