Dock & Bay supports employees who wish to do volunteer work within the community or for charitable institutions. Supporting volunteers helps the company to build relationships with the local community and improve how it is perceived within it. Employees who do volunteer work can: use the skills that they have developed at work to help the community; learn new skills including, for example, leadership qualities; and improve their morale, physical health and work-life balance.

Types of volunteering supported

The Company supports employees who are undertaking community or charitable activities, including:

• Community care work;
• Environmental work and conservation projects;
• Fundraising for community projects or charities; and
• The administration of public events.

The types of volunteering that will be supported are entirely at the discretion of the Company.

Volunteering schemes operated by the Company

Employees are offered the opportunity to do volunteering work. This is classified as Dock & Bay’s CSR day and will be with various charity organisations we choose to partner with. A full list of the organisations with which the Company has partnered within the past can be found on our website and can be obtained from the Head of the Social & Wellbeing committee. Employees who would like to volunteer but who feel that the current opportunities are not suitable for them can register their interest. They will be notified when a suitable opportunity becomes available.

Volunteering schemes are open to all employees. Employees who would like to apply to take part in a volunteering scheme must first obtain the permission of their line manager.

The arrangements that are made to allow an employee to carry out the volunteering work will depend on the scale and nature of the project. The employee may be:

• Given paid leave up to a maximum of one day per year to carry out work on the project;
• Allowed to work flexible hours to enable them to work on the project; or
• Seconded to the project for a set period of time.

Suggestions for new volunteering schemes

Employees can also make suggestions for developing new partnerships with organisations, or specific projects that could be initiated. These may range from long-term partnerships to short-term projects involving a small number of employees.

Employees should send their proposals in writing to the social committee and HR who will consult with and be advised by the CEO. The proposal should set out details of the project, why it is being proposed, and a rough estimate of the time and cost that it is likely to involve.

Consideration will be given to the overall costs of the proposed project, the burdens on the individuals who will be volunteering, and the benefits to the business and the wider community. A final decision on the viability of the proposal will be made by the CEO and head of social committee .

CSR DAY 

All employees are entitled to one CSR day a year, the Social and Wellbeing Committee will notify all employees of when this will take place and what the final volunteering scheme will be for that year. Employees wanting to use their CSR day outside of the company's volunteering scheme should notify their line manager at least one month in advance with the scheme they wish to support. This will then be taken into consideration and the employee will be notified if this request can be facilitated by the company. 

Refusing requests to change working arrangements to do work on the volunteering projects

Dock & Bay reserves the right to refuse employees' requests to change their working arrangements to undertake work on the Company's volunteering projects. A request may be refused if it is believed, for example, that:

• there will be a detrimental impact on the business needs of the employee's department;
• work within the department cannot be rearranged to accommodate the employee's varied hours;
• the employee's individual performance levels are likely to suffer; or
• the costs of the new arrangements will be too great.

 Insurance

Dock & Bay will ensure that employees doing volunteer work under one of its volunteering schemes are covered for insurance purposes in respect of personal injury. The Company will also ensure that employees doing such volunteer work are provided with professional and public liability insurance.

Volunteer agreement

Employees who are accepted as volunteers will be asked to sign a volunteer agreement. The volunteer agreement will set out the project, the volunteer's role, any changes to working time, working patterns or pay, insurance cover and any other terms and conditions.

The agreement will specify the manager who will be supervising the volunteering work. Any queries or problems relating to the volunteering work should be addressed to the manager.

Volunteering undertaken outside work

The Company also recognises that employees may wish to undertake volunteer work in their free time. Where possible, the Company will support employees by:

• giving paid leave up to a maximum of 1 day per year for them to do outside volunteer work; or
• allowing flexible working hours.

Other support

The Company will endeavour to provide any further support that can be given to volunteers. Where practical, this will include making the Company's facilities - including office space, telephones, computers and stationery - available to them to assist with their work.

Data protection

The Company processes personal data collected during the volunteer scheme in accordance with its data protection policy. In particular, data collected as part of the volunteer scheme is held securely and accessed by, and disclosed to, individuals only for the purposes of managing the employment relationship. Inappropriate access or disclosure of employee data constitutes a data breach and should be reported in accordance with the Company's data protection policy immediately. It may also constitute a disciplinary offence, which will be dealt with under the Company's disciplinary procedure.