Heritage Collections Volunteer Agreement

This Volunteer Agreement describes the arrangement between Heritage Collections at the University of Edinburgh and you. We wish to assure you of our appreciation of your volunteering with us and will do the best we can to make your volunteer experience with us valuable and rewarding.  We hope that you enjoy volunteering with us and feel a full part of our team.

This agreement tells you what you can expect from us, and what we hope from you. We aim to be flexible, so please let us know if you would like to make any changes and we will do our best to accommodate them.

 Part 1 – Library and University Collections

We commit to the following:

 Induction and training

• We will provide a thorough induction on the work of the Heritage Collections, our staff, your volunteering role and the induction and/or training you need to meet the responsibilities of the specified role.  The Volunteer Handbook (see link at the bottom of this page) provides further details of our organisation.
• We will provide details of the relevant policies and procedures you are asked to adhere to whilst carrying out your volunteering role.

 Supervision, support and flexibility

• We will explain the standards we expect for our services and support you to achieve and maintain them.
• We will provide a named person who will meet with you regularly to discuss your volunteering and any successes and problems.
• We will do our best to help you develop your volunteering role with us.
• We will consult with you and keep you informed of any possible changes to your volunteering role.   
• We will provide adequate training in support of our health and safety policy, further details of which are available in the Volunteer Handbook.
• We will provide any specialist clothing or equipment for you to carry out your tasks safely.
• Volunteer placements may involve tasks such as lifting of boxes and volumes, climbing ladders, and moving trolleys filled with heavy items.  We aim to accommodate all disabilities and health conditions. You are not obliged to disclose any disability or health condition but we encourage you to do so in order that we might make reasonable adjustments to assist you to carry out your role safely.

 Insurance

• We will provide adequate insurance cover for you as a volunteer whilst carrying out your volunteering role which has been approved and authorised by us.

  Equality and Diversity

• We will ensure that all volunteers are dealt with in accordance with our equality and diversity policy, further details of which are available in our Volunteer Handbook.  

 Problems

• We will try to resolve fairly any problems, complaints and difficulties you may have while you volunteer with us.
• In the event of an unresolved problem, we will offer an opportunity to discuss the issues in accordance with the procedures set out in the Volunteer Handbook.

 Part 2: The Volunteer

We ask you:

• To perform your volunteering role to the best of your ability.
• To follow our organisational procedures and standards, including health and safety, equal opportunities, computing regulations and social responsibility and sustainability, in relation to staff, students and volunteers.
• To follow our organisational procedures regarding handling collection items in relation to preservation and security.
• To maintain the confidential information of the organisation and of records.
• To meet the time commitments and standards which have been mutually agreed to and to give as much notice as possible so other arrangements can be made when this is not possible.
• To sign in and out on the days when you are volunteering with us.
• To provide referees as agreed who may be contacted if necessary.
• To register with the Centre for Research Collections (if applicable) and to commit to the local regulations regarding handling collection items.
• To notify us, in advance, of any future projects, publications, presentations or collaborations involving our work or collections after the completion of the volunteer placement.

 This agreement is binding in honour only, is not intended to be a legally binding contract between us and may be cancelled at any time at the discretion of either party. Neither of us intends any employment relationship to be created from the volunteer role either now or at any time in the future.

 As outlined above, we ask you to agree to the following confidentiality agreement:

Confidentiality agreement

1. I hereby undertake not to use, nor disclose to any unauthorised person, any confidential information relating to or received from the University of Edinburgh ("the University") for any reason unless expressly authorised by the University, or required by law. I understand that this applies both during the term of my employment/voluntary work and after its termination.
2. Information may be classified as 'confidential' if the University would not release it in response to a request made under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Information is also confidential information if it is clearly marked as such or by its very nature is evidently confidential. This includes but is not limited to financial information, information held on staff or student personal files and research data.
3. I understand that the use and disclosure of all information about living, identifiable individuals is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (2018). I will not use or disclose any personal data I acquire during my work for any purpose that is or may be incompatible with the purposes of that work.
4. I understand that I am required to keep all confidential and personal data securely, and undertake to follow all relevant local procedures in doing so.
5. I hereby undertake to ensure that all records provided or created for the purposes of this agreement, including any back-up records, are passed back to the University contact or deleted as directed, once I have received confirmation that the voluntary work I was employed to do has been satisfactorily completed and all the required information has been provided in accordance with the University’s wishes.
6. I consent to the University using my personal data to contact me about my volunteering placement and via the Volunteers and Interns email list. I understand that I can unsubscribe from the Volunteers and Interns email list at any time by return email and as stated in the Volunteers and Interns Privacy Notice.

Agreement

By completing your name, today's date and contact e-mail address here, you are agreeing to the conditions set out in the Library and University Collections Volunteer Agreement above.