Frequently asked questions

Volunteers must be aged 18 or over to support us. 

If you are a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you are free to volunteer your time for us.  

If you’re from outside these areas and require a visa to visit, study or work in the UK you’ll need to check that you don’t have restrictions on your visa precluding from volunteering in the UK. 

To prevent volunteering from breaching your visa conditions, we recommend that you contact  UK Visas and Immigration. 

Please note that we’re not able to sponsor visa applications. 

Yes, asylum seekers and refugees are welcomed to volunteer with us.  

Yes, you can. We don’t recommend some roles if you have recently been bereaved; however, we have lots of different opportunities available, so please get in touch if you would like to discuss your options. 

Yes. We encourage you to pop into your local shop to say hello to our friendly team of staff and volunteers. They will tell you more about what’s involved and if you like what you hear, arrange some taster sessions for you in the shop. 

Yes! Many volunteers help in more than one area, so if you are interested in volunteering in multiple roles, let us know when you apply. We will be more than happy to help you find your perfect roles. You can let us know at any time during your volunteering if you want to do less or more.  

We get lots of enquiries from people who want to volunteer but haven’t seen a role that matches their availability, skills and experience or what they are looking to gain from volunteering. If you find yourself in this situation, don’t worry, we’re here to help – Complete our enquiry form and we will be in touch. 

We have lots of casual and event volunteering roles available throughout the year that you can get involved in, however due to the amount of time it takes to process applications and train volunteers to work in the hospice, we’re not able to offer one-off opportunities at the hospice. 

We’ve got many flexible volunteering opportunities, from ad hoc to a more regular sessions each week. Our role descriptions will indicate how much time will be involved in each role.  

To make sure everyone is safe we carry out certain checks, such as references. Don’t worry if this is your first job or volunteering opportunity, you could ask a teacher, colleague or neighbour. If you’re not sure who to put as a referee, you can contact us for further help. 

Some roles require a standard or enhanced DBS check. We ask all applicants to let us know if they have any unspent convictions to consider whether this is relevant to your volunteering. If a DBS check is required, it will be indicated in our role descriptions. 

Disclosing a conviction will not necessarily exclude you from becoming a volunteer, however we may discuss this with you before you begin volunteering. 

DBS checks for volunteers are free of charge, and we can help you complete them. 

Yes, we will cover any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including travel expenses, although we ask you to use the most cost-effective form of travel (usually public transport). 

Volunteering won’t affect your benefits. While volunteering you must continue to meet the conditions of the benefit(s) you receive. If you are unsure about volunteering and your benefits, we would advise contacting your local jobcentre or council for further advice.