Charity leaders have welcomed regulations that ensure volunteering will not lead to an automatic reassessment of a person’s benefits, but warned that consistent implementation is needed.
The Right to Try regulations, which came into effect today [30 April], are designed to ensure that undertaking work or volunteering will not, on its own, lead to a reassessment of a benefit award.
The regulations apply to people who receive benefits including Personal Independence Payment, Universal Credit and New Style Employment and Support Allowance.
The changes mean people receiving benefits can start work or volunteer without it automatically leading to a reassessment of their award, making it easier for people to volunteer without fear of penalties.
Starting work or volunteering will not prevent an already planned reassessment taking place and Right to Try does not stop reassessments taking place for other reasons.
Rebecca Young, policy and public affairs lead at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said: “For years, people on benefits who want to volunteer have been held back by fear of sanctions or losing vital support.
“Today’s changes should help remove some of that uncertainty and send a clearer signal that volunteering is not only allowed, but valued.”
Young added that volunteering builds skills, confidence and connection, particularly if people are considering their route back into employment.
“No one should be locked out of that because the system feels too risky to navigate,” she said. “There needs to be consistent implementation so that people feel safe to take part.”
Catherine Johnstone, chief executive of the Royal Voluntary Service, said that the Right to Try regulations were a “very welcome step in the right direction towards removing barriers to volunteering”.
Johnstone said: “We know volunteering can have an incredible, transformative power, and it is why RVS believes that every sector has a role to play in breaking down the barriers so that more people across the UK can realise the benefits of volunteering.”
Felicitie Walls, head of volunteering at the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, agreed the regulations are a “positive step in enabling people to volunteer without fear of immediate benefit reassessment”.
She said: “For too long we have heard across Wales the stories of individuals on benefits that choose not to volunteer for fear of repercussions.
“We hope that this legislative change will reduce barriers and contribute to building the enabling environment that is needed for volunteering to flourish.”