working without pay while on mat leave

[ellliebelle]

I am currently on mat leave and i have a friend who is a childminder.

she is pregnant and is finding it difficult on her own and has asked if i would help her out while im on mat leave. This would be on a voluntary basis and she wouldn't be paying me.

I would register as a childminder and be ofstead inspected in her home.

This would help her out but also help me out as i would be getting experience working with children which i need to complete a childcare nvq i am wanting to enrole in

my question is would i be breaking any rules by working without pay whilst i am recieving mat allowance?

I'm not an expert at all but had a similar conversation with someone the other day.

I'm afraid I think it's your friend who'd be breaking the rules because legally she'd need to pay you at least the minimum wage. It's only charities who are exempt from this and can employ people as unpaid volunteers.

It also depends what your contract with your usual employer says - some forbid outside work, most just want to be told about it, especially if it's in a related field to your day job.

Hope that helps?

thanks alibaba

You can volunteer for any organisation not just charities, see here. A volunteer is not the same as a voluntary worker, which is where someone is employed under similar conditions to a paid worker but without pay. Those types of arrangements are restricted to charities, but you can still volunteer for non-charitable organisations.

Do check the restrictions your existing employer put on outside employment/activities though.