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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think some charity shop volunteers are exploited and should be paid?

127 replies

34degreesburningbees · 25/05/2026 18:00

There's a young man with autism at my local (chain) charity shop and he works so hard - harder than I ever did when I worked in retail. He sees it as his full time job and they work him like it is one.

He has been there for years. It seems a bit, idk, exploitative.

AIBU?

OP posts:
SarahAndQuack · 25/05/2026 18:07

But presumably their business model is built on volunteering? They might have a paid manager but probably most staff are volunteers.

Arguably he could do with more support to get into a paid job, but that's not the fault or the decision of the charity.

Octavia64 · 25/05/2026 18:04

My mum volunteers at a charity shop.

it’s very much volunteering. No-one is paid except for a part time manager (who actually works full time so is partially a volunteer).

They usually run on the basis of people doing regular shifts eg my mum does Thurs afternoon. Some people do all mornings. Only the manager is in there pretty much the whole time.

he may feel under pressure from himself to keep going in but it’s unlikely the managers are putting him under pressure.