Two days' paid leave for council staff to volunteer 'pointless' unless offering charities publicity, councillor says

Offering two days' paid leave for voluntary work to Peterborough City Council (PCC) employees would be “pointless” and a “tick-box exercise” unless it can help highlight the work of the organisations they choose, a councillor has said.

Cllr Nick Thulbourn (Labour, Fletton and Woodston) said that the voluntary work, which the council has now agreed to offer its staff, could be a “publicity tool” for local charities, but that two days is not enough to train people in some organisations let alone have them undertake the work.

“For two days a year, in the things I’m involved in, I would be calling them helpers not volunteers,” he said at a PCC employment committee meeting. “I define a volunteer as someone who comes on a regular basis.”

Taking photos with them and rising their profile could be useful, however, he added.

The council says it hopes the freshly-approved scheme will help recruit and retain staff.

Employees will now be allowed to undertake “any activity that positively impacts the community, helps vulnerable people in our society and/or helps to improve the environment” on company time.

This could be for two full days; but it could also be done in half-days or shorter periods of an hour or more.

PCC says that, as well as being a benefit for staff, the scheme is also about “promoting Peterborough” and the work of charities, as well as other organisations such as non-profits, schools, colleges or hospitals.

There was some concern, however, among the employment committee, that vetting all of the different organisations staff may wish to volunteer for could take up too much of the council’s time, particularly as they won’t strictly be restricted to organisations in Peterborough.

Cllr Jackie Allen (Conservatives East) suggested that the council should have a list of preferred organisations where staff can volunteer, while Cllr Rylan Ray (Conservative, Eye, Thorney and Newborough) said that the scheme would be a good opportunity to promote the mayor’s chosen charities and others affiliated with the council.

Council officers said they were minded to give staff more choice in the organisations they choose to volunteer at, but that they will review the scheme’s impacts in six months' time.