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

[34degreesburningbees]

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?

I get it’s. an awkward one because people shouldn’t be contributing to what they think is a good cause for it to be swallowed up by salaries. If they do their job well and actually provide more value than they take, then fine.

Please find companies of the same size and let me know how much their CEOs earn
You really dont have a clue about business do you?

That's good news. I'll be sure to visit an Oxfam Shop when I next pass one.

@Anarchy99

The idea is that by paying a high, but reasonable salary (and for running such a massive organisation, salaries of between 100-200k arguably are reasonable), the charity will acquire an overseer with the skills and knowledge to effectively run it - thereby bringing in more money for the charity overall.

Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.

In 2025, Oxfam's total in income was reported to be almost 340 million. So an £160,000 salary for the CEO is definitely not swallowing up the contributions. (Yes, there are other paid employees as well, but the collective salaries of everyone would definitely not take the majority of Oxfam's income.)

Absolutely. My shop recently put up a book for £1,500. Many of the volunteers, like myself, have have areas of interest which basically means we research vintage clothing, or books or jewellery to make sure we’re pricing correctly. I’m a keen charity shopper but I’m so busy when I’m at the one I work in, I don’t have time to rummage through things to find the best pickings. I bought two items in the last six months, one was a shirt that was heading for the bin as it was in a poor state (I paid the going rate as I wanted the material) and a signed book, which someone else researched and priced up and again, I paid the going rate.

I would implore anyone who thinks there are underhand dealing or slave labour going on in charity shops to report it to the commission or even the police. Don’t be a bystander.

That seems illegal alongside being exploitative. Volunteering is fine but as part of a charity. Outside of this it is against NMW regulations unless it fits into some rather limited exceptions (and it could be argued that it's not always a good thing, i do get that the unpaid work placement of old, not part of a educational course, used to be quite handy). Now i don't disagree that I'm some cases charities do probably take advantage of the situation too. Not an easy balance to strike

My brother with autism is currently applying for volunteer charity shop roles. He wants to help build his interpersonal skills and gain good work ethics and a community. That's more valuable to him than money at the moment (he also receives job seekers allowance and has to apply to at least 17 jobs a week even if they are not suitable for him, which I think is the bigger issue to be honest)

I think the charity sector in general can be pretty exploitative of volunteers but you feel torn to criticise as it may stop the good they do do and affect the innocent people who had a useful or in some cases vital service.

I do a work placement in one and had to go to this event last week (that was supposed to be just for volunteers but they couldn't persuade enough of them to go).
The managers were all talking like they were doing special needs volunteers a favour by giving them confidence or something.

Yeah. How might a volunteer feel to hear them say they're basically doing them a favour. It feeds the cycle of feeling unworthy and indebted which keeps you in your place and it means they can ask more of you because where else would you go and who would have you? Guilt tripping all around.

The trouble with charities is that they do ask people to contribute to their income through direct debits, gifts in wills, sponsorship, unlike companies. But many are operating like businesses - i worked for a charity which got most of its money from local authority contracts, and how that counted as charity I don't know. Shops are in competition with other shops on the high street but don't have the same costs. You aren't allowed to volunteer at say M&S.

They are basically businesses, just with a particular structure and dependence on voluntary labour and contributions.

I understand paying more to hire and keep talented CEOs but what that also says is a volunteers time and work is less valuable. It's alright for them to be paid but you keep turning up for free and be grateful. This is what happens when people devalue their labour and skills and offer their time for free. Relying on people's low self esteem or good nature for free labour is exploitative. So they understand market competition very well for manager wages but fuck the volunteers! Pay them in thanks and tea.

They are known to exploit volunteers, while their CEOS rake in the money. My local one got rid of loads of disabled volunteers saying they weren’t capable of doing the job despite volunteering for years. Quite sad really!

Sometimes they dip into volunteer training and support budget to hire new or agency staff or boost wages of managers. Charities need a good shake up.

@Arran2024

I agree that most of the huge national charities operate like businesses, but I don't see that as a problem? The business model is built on having a number of volunteers so that they can get (or try to get) as much money as possible.

Volunteers can work hard, Volunteering requires commitment but also has the flexibility of not going in if you are sick or whatever, that young man might not be able to cope without a supportive environment his Volunteering gives him. You are being unreasonable or do you think all volunteers should he paid ?

Their owners get a salary. About £50k -£60k salary the profit above that to the charity staff for free or low wage and lots of tax breaks. Thats why there are so many of them - it’s not altruism!

They keep saying they are more flexible but the reality is there are laws and rights for sickness and disabilities and there are flexible employers, but charities tout this out like they are some unicorn or the only option for people who need flexibility. It's in their interest to keep a volunteer a volunteer, give you enough confidence but not too much to realise your worth and leave.

@YourBrightOpalSeal

I don't think they're saying that a volunteer's time and work is less valuable. It's just a fact that a charity shop's business model has always been built on the vast majority of the staff being volunteers. Having unpaid volunteers as the majority of the charity shop's workforce is the whole point of a charity shop; it's what the model is founded on.

And the volunteers understand this. I don't think any volunteer feels exploited simply because they are an unpaid volunteer. (I am a volunteer myself and do not feel exploited at all.) Volunteers know they will not be paid and freely choose to volunteer their time.

I think you also need to take into account that volunteering has a lot more flexibility than a paid role, which is again a point against exploitation. Volunteers don't have to be there if they don't want to. They can take time off whenever they like and for as long as they like. Some years ago, the shop I volunteered in had a volunteer who would often holiday in France for 2-3 months during the summer, so naturally they were away from their volunteering for 8-12 weeks.

I have had five or six weeks away from volunteering in the past (when staying with relatives overseas) and I can take days off whenever I like. I'll shortly be calling my manager this morning to let her know that I won't be in to work this Sunday because I was invited to a birthday party yesterday.

Volunteers also generally have the freedom to choose jobs that they want to do and to turn down jobs that they don't want. If a volunteer wishes, their only role can be pricing stock and nothing else.

I would also say that Oxfam specifically probably does not pay the market rate for their shop managers - unless the market rate is only a tiny bit above minimum wage. At Oxfam, I would argue that shop managers are significantly underpaid - they are under a lot of pressure and their responsibilities aren't necessarily feasibly completed in 35 hours per week, so many end up doing overtime which is unpaid. I recently saw an advertisement for an opening for an Oxfam shop manager near my local area. It was a 30-hour per week role and the salary they were offering was just 30p above minimum wage.

I dont really know what to say to this, as a disabled person who has had years of ill health volunteering gave me a purpose when I couldn't have paid employment which I wanted and needed me volunteering 8 hours a week wouldn't be tolerated by an employer, how much money do you think i could make working 8 hours a week ?

Exactly
And 2 hours a week is giving my son valuable life and work experience. He couldn't commit more time as he wants to focus on his exams. But he is so grateful for the experience and the time the manager is taking to train him

Volunteers get a lot out of volunteering if they would not do it. Same with this young man. He’s not going to have to be judged on performance, hours worked, quality of work etc. He’s being supported. That surely works for him.

@YourBrightOpalSeal

While it's true that employers have flexibilities and rights, they are still not as flexible as voluntary work.

If a person is employed, as opposed to being a volunteer, there are limits to the amount of time off (holiday time off) they can take. Volunteers can have as much holiday as they like, for any reason. Volunteers also don't have to book time off, or arrange it around the holidays of other volunteers, we just don't come in whenever we want (obviously there is an expectation that we try to give prior notice.)

If an employee has used up all of their holiday, their employer is not going to allow them to take a day off in order to attend a birthday party. They'll be expected to miss the party and work. Since there is no limit to the amount of holiday volunteers can take, I, as a volunteer myself, am going to be calling the manager of my charity shop and telling her that I won't be coming in on Sunday.

That simply wouldn't fly for employees.

Are you saying nobody has jobs by the hour? Nobody works freelance or has flexibility in a paid role? This is the lie that charities like to use to scare volunteers and make them feel grateful.
@floatinginacoolpool there are paid jobs of very part time for students and all jobs have training. This 'be grateful' for us is what I resent when it's the charity and their employees who should be grateful for the volunteers.

@YourBrightOpalSeal

The thing is, though, those freelance workers/workers by the hour are still beholden to turn up and do those jobs (unless they have booked holiday, and there are limits to how much holiday can be taken if you're an employee.)

If a volunteer doesn't feel like showing up for work one week, they don't have to. They can just ring up and say they won't be attending. There is no limit to the amount of time off that a volunteer can take.