What a Volunteer Should NOT Do: Rights, Responsibilities, and Legal Limits

Volunteering has rules. Not many, but they’re important. And knowing them protects everyone: the volunteer, the organization, and, especially, the people who benefit from the program.

This post is intended for two audiences: volunteers who want to know exactly what is expected of them and what their rights are, and program managers who need to set clear boundaries and create safe and ethical volunteering environments.

Legal Restrictions on Volunteers

You cannot work without prior consent

Volunteering requires a prior and explicit agreement between the volunteer and the organization. No one may be assigned to volunteer tasks without their knowledge and consent. This seems obvious, but in poorly designed corporate programs, volunteering is sometimes presented as “mandatory” or assigned to people without consulting them. That is illegal.

Breach of Confidentiality

Volunteers often have access to sensitive information about beneficiaries: personal circumstances, health data, family issues, and financial information. Disclosing this information outside the context of the program is prohibited by the Organic Law on Data Protection (LOPDGDD) and may constitute a serious violation.

In corporate volunteering involving skills-based work (for example, strategic consulting for an NGO), the volunteer may also have access to confidential information from the host organization. The duty of confidentiality applies equally in such cases.

Discriminatory Conduct

Volunteers may not discriminate against beneficiaries on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, or any other characteristic. Discrimination in volunteer work can have civil consequences and, in serious cases, criminal consequences.

Fraud or Breach of Trust

Misappropriating the organization’s resources, falsifying hours or activities, deceiving beneficiaries, or using volunteer work to gain access to information for personal gain—all of these constitute fraud and can have serious legal consequences.

Operational Limits

Volunteer Work Cannot Replace Paid Employment

This is one of the most important—and most frequently violated—limits. A volunteer cannot perform, on a stable, continuous, and systematic basis, tasks that should be carried out by a paid employee. If the organization structurally depends on volunteers for its basic operations, there is an ethical—and possibly legal—problem.

In corporate volunteering, this limitation is relevant when a company partnering with an NGO attempts to outsource labor through volunteer programs. This is not acceptable.

No One Can Be Forced to Work

Voluntariness is the very essence of volunteering. If a person is pressured to participate, if there are negative consequences for not doing so, or if an environment is created where refusal is practically impossible, the activity is no longer volunteering: it is forced labor in disguise.

Agreed-Upon Hour Limits

The volunteer commits to a certain number of hours in the volunteer agreement. The organization cannot require more hours than those agreed upon. If the program’s needs increase, the agreement is renegotiated, but it is not unilaterally imposed.

Volunteer Responsibilities

Fulfilling Agreements and Commitments

The fact that volunteering is voluntary does not imply irresponsibility in its execution. When a volunteer commits to being available, leading a project, or conducting a training session, there are people who depend on that commitment. Failing to fulfill it without prior notice has real consequences for the beneficiaries and for the organization.

Punctuality and Attendance

In activities where beneficiaries are waiting for the volunteer (mentoring sessions, tutoring, support), punctuality is not optional. A volunteer who is consistently late or who cancels without prior notice is harming people in vulnerable situations, which is ethically unacceptable.

Respect for the Organization’s Values and Standards

Volunteers enter the environment of another organization and must respect its rules, culture, and values. This includes how they interact with beneficiaries (with empathy, without paternalism), protocols for responding to risky situations, and internal communication guidelines.

Inappropriate Conduct

Harassment or Discrimination Against Beneficiaries

Any form of harassment—sexual, psychological, or abuse of power—toward program beneficiaries is strictly prohibited and may constitute a crime. Well-designed volunteer programs have clear protocols for detecting and managing these cases, and volunteers must be familiar with them.

Data Protection Violations

Photographing beneficiaries without consent, sharing personal data on social media, or using information accessed during volunteer work for personal purposes are actions that violate the GDPR and the LOPDGDD, with penalties that can be very significant.

Dishonest Conduct

Lying about the number of hours worked, falsifying activities to obtain employment benefits (such as additional days off in corporate programs that incentivize participation), or using volunteer work as an excuse for other activities are behaviors that undermine the integrity of the program and may result in disciplinary or legal consequences.

Volunteer Protections

Right to Report Abuse Without Retaliation

Volunteers have the right to report any situation involving abuse, exploitation, or inappropriate conduct by the organization without facing retaliation. This includes being required to work more hours than agreed upon, being assigned tasks that exceed the agreement, being pressured to act in a manner contrary to one’s own values, or being denied access to insurance in the event of an accident.

Accident and Liability Insurance

We’ve mentioned this in other posts, but it’s worth repeating: every organization that manages volunteers is legally required to provide accident insurance and liability coverage for its volunteers. If an organization does not have this coverage, the volunteer has the right to demand it and to refuse to participate if it is not guaranteed.

Protection Against Discrimination

Volunteers cannot be discriminated against on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other characteristic when applying to participate in a volunteer program. Discrimination in access to volunteer opportunities is subject to the same prohibitions as in employment.

How to Report a Case of Abuse

Internal Channels

If a volunteer detects an inappropriate situation, the first step is to report it to the program coordinator or the HR manager in the case of corporate volunteering. If there is no internal channel or if the abuse comes specifically from program leaders, external channels must be used.

External Channels

Depending on the type of situation: the Labor Inspectorate for cases of covert labor exploitation; law enforcement for situations constituting a crime; the Data Protection Officer of the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) for privacy violations.

Termination: When and How to Withdraw from a Program

At the Volunteer’s Initiative

The volunteer may leave the program at any time, although it is recommended to give sufficient advance notice so that the organization can make necessary adjustments. In cases of personal emergency, immediate withdrawal is understandable. In non-urgent situations, best practice is to provide 2–4 weeks’ notice.

At the Organization’s Initiative

The organization may terminate a volunteer’s participation if they fail to fulfill their commitments, engage in inappropriate conduct, or if the program ends. It may not do so in retaliation for a complaint or for discriminatory reasons.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a volunteer not do?

They must not: work without prior agreement, violate confidentiality, discriminate, commit fraud, replace paid employment, be forced to work, exceed agreed-upon hours, harass or mistreat beneficiaries, or falsify their activities.

What rights do volunteers have in Spain?

According to Law 45/2015: clear information about their role, accident insurance, civil liability coverage, reimbursement of reasonable expenses, initial training, the right to file a complaint without retaliation, the right to resign with reasonable notice, and non-discrimination in access to volunteer opportunities.

Can the organization require a volunteer to work overtime?

No. Hours are specified in the volunteer agreement. The organization may request additional hours, but the volunteer has the right to decline without consequences. Coercively demanding overtime violates the voluntary nature of the relationship.

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