Employee Volunteering
Time to make a difference
The University of Reading is committed to engaging with our local community. Proactively encouraging our employees to work with local organisations is an opportunity for the University to visibly demonstrate this commitment while establishing new relationships and partnership working with our community in support of our charitable objective to advance education, learning and research through the University.
Leave for volunteering
From 1 October 2024, the University’s Employee Volunteering - Time to Make a Difference policy entitles every staff member to two additional days of paid leave (pro rata to their contract) to volunteer for a charity, organisation or other good cause. To use these days to carry out volunteering individually, employees must request it as they do annual leave, and the line manager must approve it in accordance with the terms of the Employee Volunteering policy.
To apply for approval from your line manager to take leave under this policy, please contact them directly to secure their approval, before the volunteering activity takes place. Requests for this type of leave cannot be made via ESS. Once the leave is approved, Line Managers must record the approved leave by completing this Volunteering Leave Approval Form. This confirms the leave is approved.
The External Relations Directorate will also use the information gathered in the form to ascertain volumes and types of employee volunteering that is carried out and the impact the University is making on local communities.
Group volunteering
Some teams may decide to use the time together and volunteer as a group. Ideas about where group volunteering can take place can be provided by emailing volunteer@reading.ac.uk
Once the group volunteering activity is secured, the line manager needs to complete a risk assessment for the event. Further details are in the Employee Volunteering Policy.