Emergency volunteers
- The Act introduces a new form of unpaid statutory leave, and powers to establish a compensation scheme to compensate for some loss of earnings and expenses incurred by volunteers. These measures enable relevant appropriate authorities (local authorities and relevant health and social care bodies) to maximise the pool of volunteers that they can draw on to fill capacity gaps by addressing two primary deterrents to participation: risk to employment and employment rights, and loss of income.
- These measures maximise the number of volunteers able to fill gaps in capacity, thus helping to safeguard essential services that could be at risk due to increased demand on services as a result of the pandemic.
