Substantive questions volunteering

If you are 16 or older, you can volunteer. Do you get a replacement income? Then you probably have a duty to report this to your payout institution. Ask your payout institution in advance what you need to do to stay in order for your replacement income.

Give a Day is to find volunteer work for yourself and society: making friends, making use of your experience, making a difference, learning, having fun, experimenting, gaining benefits, empathizing, strengthening the neighborhood, using your skills, gaining experience, meeting looking behind the scenes, helping others, finding your place ...

That is why we are more than just a platform, we want to be a community, of people and organisations.

Give a Day wants to give inspiration for your useful free time. Your fun experience and personal growth is central.

Make sure you have some information about volunteering beforehand. The organisation is obliged to at least report the following things to you. (This can be done in a volunteer contract, an oral or written communication.)

• The goal of the organisation: what do they do?
• The type of organisation: de facto association, CVBA-VSO, city council ...
• The insurance policies taken out for you (at least Civil liability!)
• The fees that you may be reimbursed, how and when you get it
• That you have a duty of confidentiality

Do you get a replacement income? Then you probably have a duty to report with respect to your payout institution. Ask your payout institution in advance what you need to do to stay in order for your replacement income.

Organisations are required to take out insurance for every volunteer who participates in a voluntary activity. They must inform you of this at the start of the activity. If they do not, ask for it.

If you make a mistake as a volunteer and someone else suffers damage, then the organisation is in principle liable for this through civil liability insurance. This only applies to unintentional light errors, no repetitive errors and no deception.

Notify your organisation as soon as possible. Organisations are required to insure you. You should definitely check with the organisation beforehand whether they have civil liability insurance for volunteers. This way you can inform the organisation what is and is not covered.

An organisation is not obliged to pay a fee. It is assumed that if you do something voluntarily, you get your feeling and appreciation through other ways than the material. Of course it is not the intention that you tear your pants on, so the organisation can give a compensation for your expenses. Be sure to discuss this with the organisation beforehand.

You can get compensation in two ways:

• Flat-rate reimbursement: You receive a fixed amount. You do not have to submit supporting documents for this. The maximum amount is 35,41 euros * per day with a maximum of 1416,16 euros * per year. Your transport costs can also be reimbursed. The maximum is 2000 km transport costs per year:
• for your own car: maximum 0,3542 euro* per kilometer.
• for the bicycle and the train: the annual amount you receive for this may not exceed the amount for the car.
• Real reimbursement: You only get the costs for which you deliver proof, such as your train ticket, a cash receipt ... There is no maximum on this.

* These amounts apply from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

Caution!

• You can not use these 2 ways in the same calendar year: you choose either the flat-rate or the real reimbursement and this for all organizations where you get a reimbursement.
• The maximum amounts apply to the total of all reimbursements that you receive in all organizations within a calendar year.
• If you get a replacement income, you should first ask your payout institution what you need to do to stay in order for your replacement income.
• If you do not follow the rules, you run the risk of paying taxes on your reimbursements.